No coordination between I&FC Deptt, JMC, RDD, JKPCC
*Discussions held on issue but no tangible action plan
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 24: Though there are laws which prohibit contamination of water bodies yet due to lack of coordination between different Government departments the same are not being enforced strictly leading to pollution of Ranbir Canal, which otherwise is the lifeline for lakhs of farmers. Moreover, the main agency-Irrigation and Flood Control Department doesn’t have adequate manpower to keep check on throwing of garbage into the canal and its distributaries.
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The Section 73 of Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010, which deals with prohibition on deposition of any material or waste in or near a water channel, states: “No person shall deposit any material or waste in or near any channel or field drain or any other work feeding any irrigation work”.
Similarly, Section 74 of the Act, which pertains to prohibition on discharge of sewage or industrial effluent in the irrigation work, read: “No person shall pollute, or discharge any sewage or industrial effluent, in the water of any irrigation work which may deteriorate the quality of water of, or give rise to the growth of any weeds in, or cause an injury to, any irrigation work”.
Moreover, there are sufficient provisions in this law to punish the violators of the Act, which is supposed to be enforced by J&K Water Resources Regulatory Authority through different agencies like Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
Likewise, there is Jammu and Kashmir Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling and Disposal) Act, which is to be enforced by the Pollution Control Committee by passing instructions to the concerned agencies like Rural Development Department, Irrigation and Flood Control Department and Jammu Municipal Corporation.
The Section 9 of this Act prohibits any person from throwing any bio-degradable garbage in the water channel, water-course or water sources. As per Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, the water course means any river, tributaries, nallah, stream, canal, khad, flood channel and diversion channel. Similarly, water source means a river and its tributaries, stream, nallah, canal, or any other source from which water becomes available for use.
“The condition of Ranbir Canal and its distributaries clearly indicate that strict implementation of these laws never received due attention of all the concerned authorities”, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “whenever the water in the canal is stopped for annual maintenance exercise the shabby condition of canal and its distributaries come to the fore and clearly depicts that laws are only on the papers”.
They informed, “as far as Irrigation and Flood Control Department is concerned it doesn’t have sufficient manpower to keep watch on attempts to pollute Ranbir Canal. In the past there were specific posts for this activity but with the passage of time these posts turn vacant and then no efforts were made to fill-up the same”.
“Moreover, Irrigation and Flood Control Department has on numerous occasions laid stress on the necessity of diverting small drains from localities entering the canal and its distributaries but neither Jammu Municipal Corporation nor Rural Development Department paid any serious attention towards the same. This is notwithstanding the fact that in number of official meetings presentations were made about devising some action plan collectively by all these agencies”, sources disclosed.
Laying stress on proper coordination, they said, “while all these departments are required to sit together and chalk out a strategy to prevent pollution of Ranbir Canal and its distributaries, the J&K Water Resources Regulatory Authority and J&K Pollution Control Committee should also play their role in ensuring effective implementation of Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, 2010 and Jammu and Kashmir Non-Biodegradable Material (Management, Handling and Disposal) Act besides other laws on the subject”.
When contacted, a senior officer of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, while wishing anonymity said, “no dobut proper maintenance of Ranbir Canal and its distributaries is our responsibility but without the cooperation of other agencies like JMC and Rural Development Department we cannot stop pollution. We all need to work collectively so as to achieve the tangible results”.
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