The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an application that sought declaration of land subsidence currently happening at Joshimath as a natural disaster.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha, while rejecting the application that sought immediate intervention of the Apex Court into the matter, directed petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to approach the Uttarakhand High Court for relief.
Earlier on January 10, the Apex Court had refused urgent hearing on the public interest litigation, stating that everything of urgency did not have to come to the court.
The Bench had also observed then that there were democratically elected institutions to look into the matter and the petitioner should approach them.
The plea filed by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth, sought intervention of the Court to ensure immediate financial assistance and compensation to the residents of Joshimath.
It further sought directions to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to actively support the residents of Joshimath.
The Counsel appearing for the petitioner contended that it was an important matter.
Joshimath is a mofussil town, nestled in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand at an altitude of 1,800 metres above the sea level. The current population is around 17,000.
Joshimath, which acts as the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites such as Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, besides the international skiing destination Auli, was declared as disaster-prone after cracks started appearing in buildings and on roads.
As per the reports, around 4,500 buildings in Joshimath have developed cracks. Out of these, 610 had become unsafe for living, leading to evacuation of a large number of people to safer places.