Whose baby is Brari Nambal? Srinagar, Oct 22: In the wake of conflicting stands of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) and Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) over jurisdiction of Brari Nambal lagoon here, the J&K High Court Tuesday directed the State government to file a report on conservation measures for the water body. “Keeping in view the jurisdictional conflict, we direct Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department to file affidavit regarding measures, quality of water, status of STP and cleaning of the water body,” a Division Bench of Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice M A Attar said in its order. Both SMC and LAWDA claim that the lagoon conservation does not fall under their jurisdictions. The court said the government affidavit would also depict how illegal constructions have come up around the lagoon and suggest measures for preserving the water body. Following the submission of Amicus Curie Z A Shah that the old STP at the lagoon be replaced by a new one if it consumes for its repairs an amount against which a new STP can be purchased, the Court asked Vice-Chairman LAWDA to see whether it was feasible to continue with the repairs of the current STP or it be replaced by a new one. “We feel that instead of spending amount on repairs, it would be better to purchase a new one,” the court said. VC LAWDA told the court that a complete status report and report of experts, preferably from NEERI, shall be filed by next date of hearing. In a separate direction, the Court granted the government four weeks to nominate an officer who will replace the current VC LAWDA, Irfan Yaseen, whose term ends on March 3, 2014. “This requires immediate association of an officer at this stage so that by the time Yasin demits his office, the officer shadowing him may be ready for his assignment,” the court observed. Advocate General, M I Qadri, told the court that there are options available with the government saying either Yasin can be retained, and in case he demits the office, then a competent and devoted officer for water bodies would be nominated. Earlier, Greater Kashmir had highlighted in its reports the non-functioning of STP in the lagoon and the problem of untreated sewage flowing into the water body. The reports underlined that a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of the Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED) has become the main source of pollution for the once famed water body. The STP was constructed on the southern banks of Brari Nambal in late eighties as a pilot project for State engineers to get acquainted with latest sewage treatment technology of Extended Aeration Process. As per an SPCB report, the STP is not functioning properly. The GK reports highlighted that pollution from point and non-point sources have made the lagoon a stinking cesspool in the midst of Srinagar city.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 00:37:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015