Srinagar, Apr 26: To prevent further ecological disturbance of Manasbal Lake, the J&K High Court on Friday directed the government to stop constructions in the proximity of the lake.
“The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mansbal Development Authority shall ensure that no constructions are permitted in the area against the Master Plan and the byelaws in vogue,” directed a two judge bench comprising Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and Tashi Rabstan.
The bench also directed the officer to report about the constructions in the area by or before next date of hearing.
The bench passed the direction after studying a document on Mansbal, one of the deep water lakes of Kashmir situated in Ganderbal district. The document had been prepared by advocate Nadeem Qadiri, amicus curie in a public interest litigation about the Sonamarg hill station.
The court observed that the authorities at the helm of affairs are not taking any effective steps for preservation and protection of the lake.
“We deem it proper to include the subject with the present PIL on Sonamarg by taking on record the document and implead Chief Executive Officer Mansbal Development Authority as party respondent in the PIL. He shall figure as respondent No.18 in the PIL,” directed the court.
The CEO has been asked to file a detailed report about the steps taken for preservation and protection of the lake.
“He shall also file details with reference to the mechanism in vogue for disposal of the solid and liquid waste of the lake and around,” the court directed.
Attention of the court was also drawn to the heaps of garbage lying outside the G.B.Panth Children’s Hospital Srinagar.
The court was told that the non-compliance of the Waste Management Disposal Rules has resulted in deposition of the huge garbage outside the hospital which is not only hazardous but dangerous for the life of the children who approach the hospital for treatment.
The court directed the CEO Cantonment Board to “ensure proper hygiene and other sanitation facility to ensure lifting of the garbage/waste which is stated to be dumped in and around the G.B.Panth Children Hospital without any further delay.”
The CEO has also been directed to ensure disposal of the waste in terms of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and file compliance.
Two weeks time was granted to Commissioner Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department, Commissioner Secretary Tourism Department and Chief Town Planner Kashmir to respond to the directions passed on revisiting the Master Plan of Sonamarg.
If the officers fail to file the response within the stipulated time, they shall have to appear in person before the court on next date of hearing, directed the court.
