| Frame policy to save Tawi, khads: High Court | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 12: A high court division bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Tashi Rabstan today directed respondents to frame the state water policy and plan in terms of the J&K Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010 for safety, prevention and restoration of wetlands, marshland, flood channels and 'khads' and for preserving the sanctity of river Tawi from being polluted by the waste and toxic water emanating from authorised and unauthorised colonies alongside the river by ensuring stringent and effective measures positively within a period of two months from today.
The court directive came in a PIL, seeking a direction to respondents to strictly implement the J&K Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010 and prepare State Water Policy and Plan for development, management planning, utilization and monitoring of water resources in the state, thereby demolishing the unauthorized constructions made by anybody, including removal of encroachment from a nallah from Sharma Resorts to Haji Basti, Sunjwan, and to take appropriate action against the encroachers. The PIL also seeks a complete ban on encroachment of water bodies, wetlands, water courses; to stop flow of waste and toxic water in river Tawi, emanating from the illegal colonies constructed between Sidhra Bridge and Nikki Tawi Bridge and, by issuance of a notification, to declare all the water bodies, wetlands and water courses as government property in terms of section 3 of the J&K Water Resources Act. The bench observed that section 172 of the Act clearly envisages that no court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under the Act except upon a complaint in writing made by the government or any of its officers or the authority, as the case may be, for this purpose whereas section 150(1) of the Act envisages that any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the authority may file an appeal in the high court. Also, the government vide October 15, 2012 notification has issued SRO 339, whereby State Water Resources Regulatory Authority was established to exercise powers and discharge functions assigned to it under the Act. |
|
