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HC wants to know if its campus is in or outside Sukhna catchment area
The Sukhna catchment area is the surrounding demarcated region of the Sukhna Lake, which is a protected site according to environmental norms. The HC has directed the committee of technical experts to submit a demarcation report on whether the HC campus overlaps the Sukhna catchment area or not.
While issuing directions to “commence and complete” physical demarcation of the Sukhna catchment area, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday asked whether the high court campus was within or outside the Sukhna catchment area.
The directions came while hearing a batch of petitions regarding the Sukhna Lake catchment area, high court building and parking issues.
“As to whether the high court campus lies within the catchment area as per the Survey of India map dated September 21, 2004, becomes relevant to the issue involved and, therefore, physical demarcation of the said catchment area of the Sukhna Lake is required to be completed at the earliest,” said the bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and justice Anil Kshetarpal on Wednesday while adding, “It is of prime importance that physical demarcation of the Sukhna catchment area is commenced and concluded at the earliest”.
The Sukhna catchment area is the surrounding demarcated region of the Sukhna Lake, which is a protected site according to environmental norms. The HC has directed the committee of technical experts to submit a demarcation report on whether the HC campus overlaps the Sukhna catchment area or not.
The HC in its order issued on March 2020 had inter alia held that all commercial/residential and/or other structures constructed in the catchment area of the Sukhna Lake falling in the areas of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh as demarcated in the map prepared by the Survey of India on September 21, 2004, are declared illegal/unauthorised and are ordered to be demolished.
Pursuant to filing of various review applications, the order was stayed in December 2020 to the extent of demolition of constructions raised in the catchment area. However, the restraint against construction or building activities in the catchment area was not disturbed. The said review applications are still pending for adjudication.
The case is now listed for August 9.
Technical experts panel yet to be formed
The high court issued directions to the Panjab University as well Punjab and Haryana to appoint their respective nominees within a period of one week from today “failing which coercive steps shall be taken against them.”
The bench “expressed surprise” that even though the high court in September 2022 “had requested for the formation of the technical experts committee comprising of members/nominees from department of hydrology and department of geography, Panjab University; Punjab and Haryana as well as Survey of India, the same has yet not been constituted.”
The Chandigarh administration nominated Dr Rajesh Bansal, superintending engineer, public health circle, as its nominee, but the Panjab University and the states of Punjab and Haryana have not appointed their nominees.
“It appears that even on a special request made by this court to the other stakeholders i.e. the Panjab University as well as the states of Punjab and Haryana, they did not pay heed to the request of this court,” observed the court while issuing writ of mandamus to PU, Punjab and Haryana.
Parking to be functional by Sept-end: UT
During the hearing, the high court bench was informed by the UT’s counsel that the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee has approved the creation of a parking space behind MLA Hostel, Sector 4, Chandigarh. The high court was informed that the tender has already been floated on June 7, 2024, and after laying pavers, the parking lot behind MLA Hostel, Sector 4, Chandigarh would become functional by September 30.
