Assam: Gauhati HC seeks report from government on issue of water logging within 10 days

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court was today miffed with the state Forest and Environment Department, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, and other authorities for not properly addressing the problem of water logging in Guwahati for a long time, directing them to detail the steps taken by them to resolve the issue within a period of ten days.

The bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam was hearing a public interest litigation case (PIL/14/2024) filed by the North East Eco Development Society regarding the issue of water logging in Guwahati city during the monsoon season.

The bench, led by CJ Vijay Bishnoi, heard R. Dhar, counsel for the petitioner and representative of the organization, its secretary, Biswajit Saikia. A hearing was also conducted by the bench of D. Gogoi, the Standing Counsel of the state Forest Department, and N. Bordoloi, the Standing Counsel of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Assam.

The bench noted that responses on behalf of the state government, the Forest & Environment Department, Assam; the Revenue and DM Department; the Assam Disaster Management Authority; and the Divisional Forest Officer, Kamrup Division, have not been filed till date.

Mentioning that the petitioner in this PIL has raised an issue regarding the water logging in Guwahati city during the monsoon season, the HC observed that the problem of water logging in the city has not been addressed by the authorities concerned in a proper manner for a long time. As the issue is directly related to the public at large, the HC expected the respondents to file their response within the stipulated time, detailing the steps taken by them to deal with the problem.

The bench granted ten days’ time to the respondents to file counter affidavits, listing the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

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