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| Formulate SOP to provide relief to avalanche victims: HC directs Govt | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Mar 21: Division Bench of J&K High Court comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal has directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to provide relief to the victims of avalanches and natural disasters. This significant order was passed in a Public Interest Litigation filed by the displaced inhabitants of village Saddal, Tehsil Mongri, district Udhampur, which was devastated in a flash land slide which took place in the year 2014.
The writ petition stated that the failure of the respondents to take any steps to rehabilitate the land slide affected families for past 5 years led to the filing of PIL. The landslide resulted in 40 deaths and damage to 123 houses, while number of animals and live stocks were buried. After hearing advocate Deepika Mahajan for the PIL whereas Sr AAG SS Nanda for the UT, Division Bench Comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Bindal observed: “This Court is astonished to see that the only effort made therein is to propound the estimated cost of work while the timeline merely states that the work could be completed within four or eight months from the date the funds were made available and land was allotted”.
“This is clearly an effort to push the responsibility from one department to another,” the DB said, adding that the Court orders mandated that a complete chain of the manner in which the matter of rehabilitations would proceed is placed in a composite affidavit to be filed by the departments. “This kind of piece-meal consideration is, to say the least, most unfortunate,” it said.
The DB observed that given the distress of the population concerned, we have no option but to direct that this matter be placed before the Chief Secretary, who may examine the matter and ensure that all clearances and permissions as are necessary for execution of the project of rehabilitation of these affected families/population are granted, the rehabilitation commenced and completed at the earliest and ensure that firm time lines are placed before us. Needless to say that the same shall be done as expeditiously as possible given the dire conditions in which the affected families are living. |
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