Ranchi: A division bench of Jharkhand high court comprising chief justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra and justice Ananda Sen has directed the state government to immediately remove encroachments around major water bodies including Kanke Dam, Dhurva Dam, Getalsud Dam, Hinoo river. The direction followed the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed on the issue of encroachments of water sources of the state capital and absence of cleanliness of Bada Talab.
The bench directed the authorities to ensure proper arrangements to prevent discharge of solid and liquid waste in the water bodies. The court has directed the state government and the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to file a status report in the next hearing and asked the chief executive officer (CEO) of the corporation to appear before the Court virtually. The court has fixed September 12 as the next date of hearing.
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RMC launched mass awareness drive on cleanliness of water bodies
During the hearing, LCN Shahdev told the court on behalf of RMC that several initiatives have been taken to remove encroachments around the water body coming in the municipal corporation area. People have also been made aware through pamphlets and advertisements that no one shall be allowed to pollute the water bodies. About 65% of the civil work of the water treatment plant at Bada Talab has been completed and about 35% of the mechanical work has also been completed.
It is worth mentioning that in the last hearing, the court had asked the state government to remove encroachments from the capital’s water sources like Kanke Dam, Dhurva Dam, Getalsud Dam, Hinoo river and Bada Talab within three months. The court had categorically told the officials that it would be compelled to pass strict orders if the encroachment was not removed.
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Petitioner advocate Khushbu Kataruka has filed a public interest litigation regarding the cleanliness of Ranchi’s Bara Talab, while the court has also taken suo moto cognizance of encroachment on the land of Ranchi’s water sources like Kanke Dam, Dhurva Dam and Getalsud Dam.
