HC directs govt to implement steps mooted by experts to protect Durgam Cheruvu

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar, on Friday made it ample clear that the State government is bound to implement the long-term and short-term measures suggested by the expert committee for protecting “Durgam Cheruvu”, an iconic lake in the city, from further deterioration due to inflow of pollutants, toxics, chemicals and sewage and protect it from illegal constructions in the buffer zone.

The CJ asked Advocate-General Sudershan Reddy what action the government has taken in removing 78 structures within the lake FTL and 146 structures in the buffer zone, which are illegal and have been developed with all civic amenities. The preliminary notification of the FTL boundary of 160.6 acres, though issued, the final notification is yet to be issued. Some sewage from the Madhapur area is flowing into Durgam Cheruvu.

The CJ, after going through the “status report” filed by Reddy on measures taken by the State to implement the measures suggested by the committee, expressed discontent. He observed “at present this court is concerned with the implementation of the short-term measures as suggested by the expert committee...

‘The status report does not indicate the timeline, within which the short-term measures will be implemented... the report says nothing except for annexing copies sent by other departments stating that they are implementing the measures”.

The AG ‘s contention that the State is implementing the short-term measures; reports on the issue from the Pollution Control Board, HMWSSB and Fisheries department are awaited, were not considered by the CJ court. It said the government, rather than seeking opinion from the departments, should implement the measures suggested by expert for protecting the lake.

The CJ made it clear that if the government does not implement the short-term measures for time being, then it has no other option, but to direct the committee to visit Durgam Cheruvu again and file a fresh report on action taken by the government.

The bench, by an order, had constituted a committee comprising Dr. Anil Narayan Vaidya, director, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, and other officials from the government and the HC, which visited the lake and filed a report on pollution due to inflow of chemicals, arsenic material and sewage and illegal constructions in FTL. It had advised measures

The bench was adjudicating the suo motu PIL

by converting an item published in an English newspaper on deteriorating health of Durgam Cheruvu.

Hearing in the case was adjourned to March 11.

Notices issued to State on PIL to implement ‘Samagra Shiksha’ vocationalisation of school education

The HC division bench on Friday issued notices to the chief secretary, principal secretary (school education), project director, T. Samagra Shiksha State Project, and the Union of India, represented by the secretary (education), directing them to file within four weeks counter-affidavits furnishing reasons for not implementing the Samagra Shiksha Vocationalisation of School Education (VSE) in proper time frame in the State,

The bench was adjudicating the WP(PIL) filed by Kora Arvind, a social worker of Sangareddy, seeking directions to the Union of India and the State government to implement VSE in proper time frame, following the guidelines and process as mandated by the implementation framework issued by the Union Ministry of Education.

Counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the State is not implementing VSE in a proper time frame; rather it is implementing it casually. Hearing in the case was adjourned by four weeks.