Patna: HC raps UDHD, GMC for failing to stop pollution, constructing dam on Falgu
Debashish Karmakar | TNN | Feb 27, 2019, 19:57 IST
Representative imagePATNA: The Patna high court on Wednesday came down heavily on the urban development and housing department (UDHD) and Gaya Municipal Corporation (GMC) for failing to curb pollution and not even being able to construct a dam on Falgu river for water storage even after passage of four years of an earlier high court order on the same issues.
A division bench of Justice Jyoti Saran and Justice Arvind Srivastava was hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Gaurav Kumar Singh urging the court to direct the concerned authorities for proper handling of waste emission, to stop process of dumping debris into river along with stopping flow of municipal waste and drainage water which is adversely affecting water level in the city area of Gaya town.
The petitioner had also urged the court to direct authorities of Bihar State Pollution Control Board and Gaya Municipal Corporation for constructing a sewerage treatment plant as there is high nitrate content in river water and public health engineering department has also given an adverse report over the poor water condition. The petitioner was represented by counsel Sumit Kumar Singh before court.
A joint counter affidavit submitted by UDHD and corporation appraised high court over sewage scheme and construction of treatment plant that Gaya sewerage scheme was proposed in two phases of which first phase is of worth Rs 370.63 crore under which 319km-long-sewer lines and construction of several other things were proposed while in second phase, 150kms of sewer lines and several other required infrastructure for Rs 159 crore would be constructed. The detailed project report (DPR) of scheme was under preparation.
The affidavit also appraised court on issues of plastic waste management, removal of encroachment and issues of solid waste management.
However, the court came down heavily on counsels of UDHD and municipal corporation after it found that there were no satisfactory replies in the joint affidavit over the issues and nothing was mentioned over dam construction on which a coordinate bench of the high court headed by the then Chief Justice L Narasimha Reddy and Justice Vikash Jain had passed an order while hearing a PIL filed by Pratijnya on March 18, 2015.
“We direct that the steps for removal of the encroachments, establishment of solid waste treatment plant, and construction of the dam shall be speeded up. Before monsoon sets in, the work shall be almost, near completion,” the court had observed four years back.
On Wednesday, the court ordered both UDHD and municipal corporation to again file a joint counter affidavit properly addressing all issues and fixed March 7 as next date of hearing on the matter again.
A division bench of Justice Jyoti Saran and Justice Arvind Srivastava was hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Gaurav Kumar Singh urging the court to direct the concerned authorities for proper handling of waste emission, to stop process of dumping debris into river along with stopping flow of municipal waste and drainage water which is adversely affecting water level in the city area of Gaya town.
The petitioner had also urged the court to direct authorities of Bihar State Pollution Control Board and Gaya Municipal Corporation for constructing a sewerage treatment plant as there is high nitrate content in river water and public health engineering department has also given an adverse report over the poor water condition. The petitioner was represented by counsel Sumit Kumar Singh before court.
A joint counter affidavit submitted by UDHD and corporation appraised high court over sewage scheme and construction of treatment plant that Gaya sewerage scheme was proposed in two phases of which first phase is of worth Rs 370.63 crore under which 319km-long-sewer lines and construction of several other things were proposed while in second phase, 150kms of sewer lines and several other required infrastructure for Rs 159 crore would be constructed. The detailed project report (DPR) of scheme was under preparation.
The affidavit also appraised court on issues of plastic waste management, removal of encroachment and issues of solid waste management.
However, the court came down heavily on counsels of UDHD and municipal corporation after it found that there were no satisfactory replies in the joint affidavit over the issues and nothing was mentioned over dam construction on which a coordinate bench of the high court headed by the then Chief Justice L Narasimha Reddy and Justice Vikash Jain had passed an order while hearing a PIL filed by Pratijnya on March 18, 2015.
“We direct that the steps for removal of the encroachments, establishment of solid waste treatment plant, and construction of the dam shall be speeded up. Before monsoon sets in, the work shall be almost, near completion,” the court had observed four years back.
On Wednesday, the court ordered both UDHD and municipal corporation to again file a joint counter affidavit properly addressing all issues and fixed March 7 as next date of hearing on the matter again.
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