'Serious matter,' SC notice to Centre on landslides, flashfloods in Himalayan states

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to examine a PIL raising concern over increasing occurrences of landslides and flashfloods, particularly in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and also in other Himalayan states.

A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ascertain the situation, saying it was a serious matter, while referring to media reports of large number of wooden logs flowing in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, indicating illegal tree fellings.

"We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab," the bench said.

The court issued notice to the Union government and Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir governments seeking their response to a PIL filed by Anamika Rana.

The plea sought a direction for proper implementation of environmental laws, Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Sendai Framework guiding principles to preserve and protect the pristine and delicate ecology of the Himalayan states before it becomes too late.

The PIL also sought the formation of SIT involving experts to find out the reasons for the disasters and to determine the responsibilities of the officials and also to suggest measures that may help to protect and preserve the pristine and delicate ecology of the Himalayan states and which will also help in enforcement of the Rights given under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petitioner, an environmentalist, contended she filed the instant plea in the larger public interest to ensure and to uphold the constitutional right to life (Article 21) and access to justice of the residents of these Himalayan states.

The plea claimed one of the biggest causes of floods across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are the obstructions caused by constructions and encroachments on/along the rivers, rivulets, streams, water, channels and courses and muck-dumping thereon, apart from muck-dumping on hill slopes and/or other open areas.

It claimed in spite of increase in frequency of the landslides, floods, cloudburst etc in these states in the past decades, there is no effective precautionary or preventive plan for the prevention of these kinds of disaster or for mitigating the losses from these disasters.

Among other directions, the plea also sought constituting an expert committee, headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court, with adequate powers, to, inter alia, monitor, oversee, remedy the situation; such committee be of a permanent nature, with decentralised, multi-tier structural and functional framework.