Friday, 06 August 2022 | PNS | NAINITAL
Stating that draining of sewage in the Ganga river is a matter of concern, the Uttarakhand high court has directed the Irrigation secretary, chief engineer and superintendent engineer to submit their replies in court while hearing a public interest litigation regarding alleged anomalies in sewage treatment plant works in Haridwar and untreated sewage being drained in the Ganga river. The court has asked what steps are being taken to complete the sewage treatment plant projects and what action has been taken against the officials responsible for anomalies in the projects.
The PIL filed by Ratanmani Dobhal was taken up for hearing by the division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice RC Khulbe. The petitioner has stated that budget was released for three sewage treatment projects under the Irrigation department in the Haridwar district. The petitioner stated that these include Rs 2365 lakh project approved by NABARD and Rs 2260 lakh for the project under the Central government’s Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC). The petition further states that the Subhashgarh irrigation canal has to be constructed at a cost of Rs 695.98 lakh under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) in the Haridwar district. However, these projects are still incomplete despite the funds having been spent and the sewerage is being drained in the Ganga, the petition states. The petitioner also submitted a probe report regarding two of the projects which shows that the engineers at that time along with others had orchestrated irregularities in the execution. The inquiry by the chief engineer also confirms this, said the petitioner. After hearing both the sides, the high court has directed the government and others to submit their replies within four weeks.
