Everything important need not come to SC: CJI on Joshimath
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to grant an urgent hearing on a PIL raising Joshimath subsidence issue, saying that everything important in the country need not be taken up by the top court.
On a mentioning for urgent hearing, a bench led by CJI D Y Chadrachud said, "Everything important in the country need not be taken up for hearing by the Supreme Court as the concerned authorities are working on the ground and there are democratically elected governments which can take care of this."
The court fixed the matter for consideration on January 16.
The plea sought a direction to the Centre and the National Disaster Management Authority to immediately assist the Uttarakhand government in reparation work and provide urgent relief to the people of Joshimath facing extremities and danger to their life and property.
The PIL was filed by Jagatguru Shankaracharya Jyotirmath Jyotishpeethadheeshwar Shri Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Ji Maharaj Jyotirmath, Badarikashram, "to secure the life and personal liberty of the people of Joshimath town in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand."
The plea said entire mess of environmental, ecological and geological disturbances occurred due to large-scale manly intervention in the form of industrialisation, urbanisation and destruction of natural resources by the Union and State governments.
It further said, "No development is needed at the cost of human life and their ecosystem and if anything such is happening it is the duty of the State and Union government to stop the same immediately at war level."
On Monday, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S S Sandhu directed immediate evacuation of people from the affected zone in Joshimath, which is facing land susidence.
A bulletin from the Disaster Management Authority Chamoli said that cracks have appeared in 678 houses so far while 82 families have been shifted to safe locations in the town.
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