The High Court of Jharkhand on Friday, reprimanded the Ranchi Municipal Corporation for the absence of maintenance of the Swami Vivekanand Sarovar, also called the Ranchi lake.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad has also directed the RNC to inform the court regarding how it plans to beautify the lake, and its plan of restoration and conservation of all the water bodies in the state of Jharkhand. The Court added that the Ranchi Municipal Corporation can give no excuse for its failure in maintaining the beauty of the Ranchi lake.
A public interest petition was filed by Advocate Khushbu Kataruka stating that the Ranchi lake is infested with water hyacinths and has become a sewage pond, with all the sewage of the city having been drained into the lake.
According to the petitioners, the dirty water from the heavy vehicles that are washed near the lake goes into the water body and causes further damage.
The RMC responded by stating that multiple tenders had already been given for cleaning of the lake, but noone had taken the work.
The Court, while rejecting RMC’s argument directed the civic body to file its reply regarding the matter, giving four weeks to RMC and the government to comply with the directives of the high court.
-India Legal Bureau