HC seeks response on govt's status report on flood control, improving river embankments
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HC seeks response on govt's status report on flood control, improving river embankments

Post by on Tuesday, July 26, 2022

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Srinagar, July 25: The High Court (HC) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Monday sought response from amicus curiae on a status report filed by the J&K government regarding framing of scheme for flood control and improvement of embankments of river Jhelum.
The court also sought response on utilization of funds provided by the central government on the restoration project.
The court passed the direction after the Principal Secretary, Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC) Department proposed to file the status report during the course of the day after serving a copy of the same upon amicus curiae, Nadeem Qadiri.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice J&K, Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani directed the amicus to go through the said report and file his response by the next date of hearing. 
The bench fixed the matter for hearing on August 05 this year.
In a previous hearing, the Assistant Solicitor General of India, T. M. Shamsi had submitted that the central government has provided sufficient funds for the restoration and preservation of the river Jhelum and for flood control. 
In this connection, the bench had directed the government to submit an action taken report (ATR) regarding framing of any scheme of flood control, improvement of embankment of river Jhelum and to show how the funds sanctioned by the central government are utilised for the purpose.
In case the ATR was not filed within the said period, the Commissioner Secretary I&FC, department was directed to personally appear before it on the next date along with the record.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Environmental Policy Group (EPG), an Environment-Social think tank, through its Convenor, Faiz Ahmad Bakshi, highlighting the acts of omission and commission by the centre and J&K government committed before, during and after the devastating floods of 2014 in Kashmir.
Referring to an RTI report, the petition alleges that the Irrigation & Flood Control and the Central Water Resource Ministry knew in 2009 that a major flood would occur between 2010 and 2015 but did little to take measures to avert it.
"Its action remained confined to making plans and projects without taking practical steps to implement them on ground. Instead the dredging of river Jhelum that had been started in early sixties was abandoned in 2012," it alleges.
Moreover, the plea alleges, the I&FC department not only miserably failed in increasing the carrying capacity of river Jhelum, Wular and other water bodies through desiltation "but instead their carrying capacity drastically got reduced thereby exposing the valley to more 2014-flood like situations thereby agonising the people every time it rains for two-three days."
The PIL also includes various government, non-government and expert reports which reveal that the 2014-floods were more man-made than a natural disaster that could have been averted if timely measures were taken.
Earlier, the court had directed the Chief Engineer, Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC) department to submit in tabulation form the entire exercise his department has taken right from the time of initiation of this PIL till date with reference to the original length and breadth of the river and the Padshahi Canal.
The court also directed the Chief Engineer, I&FC to submit the present status regarding the number of encroachments removed and the steps that are being taken in that regard. 
The respondents were also directed to place before it a complete roadmap which they propose to implement for the cleanliness, preservation and the development of the river and the canals. 
Moreover, the court had also constituted a Committee headed by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, the Chief Engineer, I&FC department and Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag, Pulwama, Srinagar, Budgam and Baramulla districts as its members and as also Senior Superintendents of Police of the said districts. 
The Committee was entrusted with the task of restoring the original width of the river Jhelum and for the removal of all encroachment without any compromise or laxity and to ensure the effective implementation of the J&K Water Resources (Regulation and Management Act), 2010.
The bench had also called for specific reports from each of the Deputy Commissioners of the districts, who are members of the Committee, with regard to the position of the river and the canal existing in their concerned district.
It had directed all the respondents to ensure that no drain/waste water or effluents or sewage or garbage is dumped into the river or the canals and to indicate the measures taken by them to stop the same.
The court had noted that one of the basic factors contributing to the devastating floods of September 2014 in the Valley was narrowing down the river Jhelum due to encroachment on its sides and the non-silting of the river. 
In this connection, directions were issued to the authorities to draw a plan for the preservation of the river Jhelum and the canals in order to avoid future calamity of the same nature. 
The court observed that the “Engineers of the I&FC department are equally responsible for the floods of September 2014 and that they have to be adequately dealt with for dereliction of their duty/active connivance with the encroachers.” 
 
 
         

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