Gauhati High Court Criticises Assam Government For Failing To Respond To PIL On Waterlogging

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has lambasted the Assam government and relevant departments for their lacklustre attitude towards a public interest litigation (PIL) addressing persistent waterlogging in Guwahati.

Gauhati high court chief justice Vijay Bishnoi and justice Kardak Ete, presiding over the division bench, expressed their discontent over the government's laid-back approach despite being given a specific time-frame to respond.

The court underscored the severity of this issue and also highlighted the apparent lack of initiative from the Assam government departments involved.

“In a matter noticed on 03.06.2024, the petitioner raised a serious concern regarding waterlogging in Guwahati, which has persisted over an extended period. It appears that the concerned departments are not committed to resolving the problem, as they have failed to file any response despite the allotted time,” the Gauhati HC stated.

The backlash comes in the wake of the court's directive instructing the Assam government to provide updates regarding the measures taken to mitigate waterlogging in Guwahati within 10 days.

The Gauhati High Court called out four departments of Assam government for non-compliance as an affidavit was not filed before the court within 10 days of the stipulated time.

However, the court granted another opportunity to the departments to respond to the Writ Petition.

“In the interest of justice, we grant one more opportunity to the concerned departments to file their response, subject to a penalty of Rs 1000 each to be paid to the Gauhati high court legal services authority,” the Gauhati high court mandated.

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