Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 16: Turning the area of Wular lake into dumping garbage, High Court while taking serious note on part of the apathy of concerned authorities directed for immediate removal of Solid Waste from the site and for information of notifying the Solid Waste Management Bylaws in the area.
The division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta after perusal of reply of the Coordinator Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) observed the issue involved is of very serious in nature as the water body site has been converted into dumping garbage site by the local Municipal Committee and directed to take immediate steps for removal of municipal Solid Waste which has been dumped with the demarcated area of the Wular Lake.
DB has also directed for informing it with regard to the notification of SWM Bylaws by the Municipal Committee and the fines collected thereunder. Court directed the WUCMA to inform it about the steps which can be taken for earmarking the boundary of the entire lake before the next date of hearing in the matter.
“WUCMA shall examine the steps taken for marking the boundaries of the Dal Lake in Srinagar and to see whether similar steps are required to be taken and could be replicated qua the Wular Lake as well”, read the order.
WUCMA in its reply submitted before the division bench that Municipal Committee Sopore has illegal dumped municipal solid waste with the demarcated area of Wular Lake and also carried out unauthorized constructions in the said area.
Coordinator WUCMA informed the court that the delinquent department has carried out construction through R&B division Sopore and published a tender namely ‘Fencing of dumping site of Darnamabal Sopore’ vide NIT dated 2020-21.
“…..said construction has been approved and vetted by Chief Executive Officer Municipal Committee Sopore and Assistant Ex Engineer R&B sub-division Sopore and the construction on the site has been taken without any formal transfer of land issued to MC Sopore”, read the report of WUCMA.
Court has been informed that no order of transfer of land in question has been issued in favour of MC Sopore by any authority in terms of Cabinet decision of October 2009 for carrying out such development work on spot meaning thereby the said construction is illegal and can be treated as encroachment on other departmental land. Coordinator WUCMA submitted that responsible officers in such exercise need to be punished for such delinquency with costs recovered from their salaries.
WUCAM further added that taking advantage of COVID-19 restrictions, the MC Sopore has started dumping solid waste in Wular lake which is in violation of Wetland (conservation and management) rules, 2017, High Court orders, National Green Tribunal Orders and Solid Waste Management Rules and taking cognizance of said violation by MC Sopore, WUCMA issued notice to Executive Officer of the said Committee to stop the illegal activity.
“Despite issuance of notice, the delinquent agency still proceeded ahead with the illegal dumping and construction at the site and did not stop the work despite notice and kept violating the provisions of Wetland (conservation & management) Act.
The DB directed the Municipal Committee Sopore to place on record the site plan, the location of the dumping site before the court on September 23.
With regard to visiting on spot of the site in question in order to find out the actual position of the banks of lake, Court asked the Government counsel to coordinate with the Registrar General of the court with regard to court visit on spot.
In view of such inspection on spot Wular authorities have make labour available on spot during court visit for digging the site. These directions by the Court have been passed in PIL seeking removal of garbage which is being dumped on the banks of lake situated in North Kashmir.
Advocate Shafkat Nazir appearing in the PIL has been informed that with impunity and in violation of the rules governing the field, the garbage collected by the Municipal Council Sopore is being dumped on the banks of the lake causing grave harm to the ecology and environment of the water body by converting it into garbage site.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
