Gauhati High Court raps State for slow response to PIL on waterlogging

The Gauhati High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Assam government over its failure to respond to a petition concerning water logging in the city of Guwahati [North East Eco Development Society v. State of Assam and Ors.]..A Bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kardak Ete remarked that the State appeared to not be serious about resolving the water logging issue. The Court proceeded to impose a fine of ₹1,000 on each State department that had failed to file a response. "It appears that the (State) Departments are not serious in solving the problem of water logging in the Guwahati city, as despite specific time granted to them, no response has been filed till date. In the interest of justice, we grant one more opportunity to the aforesaid Departments to file their response to the Writ Petition, subject to the condition that each of the Department shall pay cost of Rs.1,000/- (Rupees one thousand) only, with the Gauhati High Court Legal Services Authority," the Court's June 26 order said. .The Court was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that had raised concerns about water logging in Guwahati, which the Court noted has been persisting for a long time.On June 3, the Court granted ten days for various State departments to file their response to this petition.The response was sought from the Assam government, as well as the State's Forest and Environment Department, the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, the Assam Disaster Management Authority and the Divisional Forest Officer (Kamrup division).However, on June 26, the Court was displeased to find that these authorities were yet to file their response. After giving one more opportunity to file this response, the Court adjourned the hearing of the petition till July 19. The Court added that the costs imposed on the State departments are to be paid to the Gauhati High Court Legal Services Authority by the next date of hearing. .Advocate SU Ahmed appeared for the petitioner, the North East Eco Development Society..[Read Order]