Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 16: High Court today directed the Government to file an affidavit with regard to suggestions made by its amicus curie that checking samples from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) from water bodies and sending them to testing laboratory involves a lot of expenditure.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation on protection, preservation of water bodies in the State, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justices Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Muzzaffar Hussain Attar said that the suggestions were valuable.
Amicus curie Zaffar Ahmad Shah has suggested to the court that checking, lifting samples from STPs and sending them to testing laboratory involves a lot of expenditure.
Advocate Shah suggested that exploring a possibility of constituting a technical board or committee in this regard would be feasible.
While applauding the suggestions, the Bench said: “In our opinion, it will be appropriate in its right perspective or the respondent (Government) to consider the suggestions favourably.”
Expressing concern with squeezing of area of the water bodies, the court said it should be a tale to tell the generation about these available divine gifted water bodies.
“The Jammu and Kashmir State is blessed with divine gifts of water bodies, which are its soul. If these are left unmonitored, it will result in extinction of such bodies” the court said.
Advocate Shah informed the court that Kashmir University and SKUAST-K might have done some research work regarding the damage caused to Dal Lake by discharging affluent into it.
The court also issued notice to the Vice Chancellors of both these universities and asked them to advise the Heads of the Departments concerned to submit their suggestions based on the research work carried out by them.
The court also directed the Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department to file affidavit about illegal constructions which have been raised on these water bodies, and how it was allowed and the measures taken to preserve the water bodies.
Advocate General M I Qadri informed the court that Rs 500.33 crore have been spent in the last 30 years on the Dal Lake.
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