GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has pulled up Assam Government and relevant departments for their failure to respond to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the ongoing water logging problem in Guwahati.
Due to the departments’ inaction, the court has given them one last chance to submit their responses, provided each department pays a Rs. 1,000 penalty to the Gauhati High Court Legal Services Authority.
During a hearing on Wednesday, a division bench led by Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kardak Ete expressed frustration over the government’s inaction.
The bench observed that the petitioner had raised a serious issue regarding water logging in the city of Guwahati on June 3, which had persisted for a long time.
ALSO READ High Court directs Assam govt to submit Guwahati waterlogging action plan by June 15
“It appears that the aforesaid Departments are not serious in solving the problem of water logging in the Guwahati city, as despite specific time granted to them, no response has been filed till date,” the division bench observed as reported by LiveLaw.
Earlier on June 7, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL 14/2024) filed by the North East Eco Development Society, the court had instructed the state to submit a detailed report outlining the measures taken to tackle the issue by June 15.
In its directive on June 7, the court had directed the State of Assam, represented by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest & Environment Department, the Principal Secretary of the Revenue and DM Department, the Chief Executive Officer of the Assam Disaster Management Authority, and the Divisional Forest Officer of Kamrup Division to submit the detailed report.
On June 26, the court noted that the authorities had not properly addressed the water logging problem in Guwahati during the monsoon season for a long time.
It highlighted that this issue directly affects the public and expected the respondents to file their response within the given time, detailing the steps they have taken to resolve the problem.
The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for July 19.
