Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Sept 3: The High Court has granted one month’s time to the concerned authorities with regard to setting up of a dumping site for the garbage generated in North Kashmir’s Sopore town.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal while hearing a public interest litigation was not inclined to grant further time but on the request of the counsel the court granted further one month’s time subject to penalty of Rs 1000.
While imposing costs on the Government counsel for seeking adjournment in the matter on the ground that earlier counsel representing the Government has been changed, the court said, it is not inclined to keep granting time for doing a particular thing when the time fixed for the purpose has already expired.
Court during the proceedings of the case observed that the change of the counsel is no ground for granting time to the respondents to file the status report as directed. However, the court granted a month’s time to the Government counsel to file a status report regarding the setting up of a dumping ground for the garbage which is generated on the site in question.
“Nonetheless in the ends of justice, we permit Advocate Bhat (AAG), to file the status report within a period of one month from today subject to costs of Rs.1000 which shall be deposited with the Registry within a week,” the bench directed.
The court noted that in pursuance of previous order, it had directed Government to file a status report within a further period of one month but even then the report is yet to be filed.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by Central Auqaf Committee Tarzoo seeking immediate stoppage of dumping of municipal solid waste, biomedical waste on the land (Ramsar Wetland) contained under survey No. 90 situated at Dharnambal, Ningli Tarzoo Sopore which falls within the delineated periphery pillars of Wular Conservation and Management Authority (WUCMA) and also within the limits of Hygam-Ningli-Tarzoo Tourism Development Authority.
It is in the month of March, 2020 Municipal council, Sopore started dumping waste in close vicinity of Wular Lake. It is contended that the solid waste is being dumped without following the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and the whole place has been converted into a stinky swamp and are seeking a direction to the respondents to identify a proper place for dumping of municipal waste away from the residential and environmentally sensitive areas and develop the same in terms of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
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