While observing that all issues must not come to it directly, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear the PIL filed on the recent land sinking incidents in Joshimath on January 16.

After the PIL was mentioned before a CJI Chandrachud led bench which refused urgent hearing in the matter, the bench further said,

"Everything important in the country can't come to us, there are democratically elected institutions in the country that can look after such issues..."

Notably, the PIL seeks a direction to declare Joshimath as a National Disaster and a direction for the National Disaster Management Authority to actively support the residents of Joshimath.

The plea has also prayed for financial assistance and compensation to the residents of Joshimath.

In a related plea, yesterday, the Delhi High Court had directed a lawyer appearing in person in a PIL filed seeking direction to the Centre to form a high-powered joint committee to investigate the sinking of Joshimath in Uttarakhand, to check whether a similar request has been made in the Supreme Court as well.

The PIL, before the High Court, seeks direction to the representatives of all pertinent ministries, which are involved in people's rehabilitation, to look into the sinking issue right away for the affected areas of Joshimath.

It states that it is imperative that the government of India recognises the hardship of the residents of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and take action to give them access to the necessities for a decent living.

"In one of the strangest phenomena to strike the holy town nestled in the serene hills of Chamoli at a height of 6,000 ft, houses started developing cracks and damages since 2021, leaving residents anxious and worried. Since the first reports of the cracks in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli, over 570 houses have sustained damages or cracks as residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years", the plea adds.

Furthermore, it states that Joshimath is home to one of the four cardinal 'Pithas' established by Adi Shankara.

The grim situation in Joshimath

Joshimath is located on the middle slopes of the hill, bounded on the west and east by Karmanasa and Dhaknala, respectively, and on the other sides by Dhauliganga and Alaknanda.

With increasing urbanization, this small Himalayan town has come under increased strain. According to the researchers, urbanization has historically aggravated these issues because it disrupts natural water drainage, slopes, and results in an uncontrolled flow of water.

It is pertinent to note that the alarm for an expected landslide was raised as far back as 1976, in the Mishra Committee report. The report stated that Joshimath is situated in a landslide zone and it is sinking. 

Despite providing a scientific basis, the Mishra Committee’s recommendations were ignored by the governments for years. 

Supreme Court’s approach on the Haldwani Encroachment case

The decision by the Supreme Court to defer the hearing in the Joshimath case, despite an impending catastrophe awaiting the residents of the city, is alarming.

While the Chief Justice of India has claimed that there are democratically elected institutions to take care of the land sinking incidents in Joshimath, the Supreme Court chose a different approach altogether in the Haldwani land encroachment case.

Instead, the apex court put a stay on the matter of the removal of encroachment from the land owned by the Indian Railways land in Haldwani and ruled that a workable arrangement has to be devised.

While the Supreme Court agreed that the land belongs to Indian Railways and is needed for the development and expansion of railway infrastructure, the court stated in its judgement that the government must give full rehabilitation to the eligible residents of the area. 

This was despite the fact that the matter underwent legal scrutiny for 15 long years, starting in 2007, following which the Uttarkhand High Court directed the eviction of the illegal residents.

The Uttarakhand High Court had ordered the authorities to evict forthwith the unauthorized occupants to vacate the premises from the railway land adjoining Haldwani Railway Station, commonly called Gaffur Basti. Accordingly, the action was initiated on December 29 after providing residents with a one-week prior notice.

Further, in accordance with the court ruling, residents of the Banbhoolpura area in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani who live on encroached railway land were also asked to surrender their licensed weapons and guns with the administration before the process of removing encroachments began.

Given that ‘human suffering’ remained the matter of concern in the Haldwani case, a similar application of urgency and redressal seemed missing in the Joshimath case.

While the Supreme Court was quick to enter the arena of the Legislature in the land encroachment case, it left the Joshimath disaster conveniently at the hands of ‘democratically elected institutions.’

References:

opindia.com