RANCHI: The Jharkhand high court on Thursday pulled up Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) for failing to remove encroachments around waterbodies in the state capital.
The court in an oral observation said those who encroach on public places play hide and seek with authorities.
“Those who encroach seem to be powerful people but in the eyes of justice all are same and no offender will be spared,” the court observed.
The bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad also said encroaching waterbodies is a risky venture and will adversely affect the ecological balance.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Khushbu Kataruka on the plight of the Ranchi Lake in the heart of the state capital.
The court was also apprised of the condition of Harmu river, Kanke and Dhurwa dams.
The petitioner informed the court that several acres of land in the catchment area of reservoirs have been encroached and is a threat to the existence of the waterbodies.
“The Harmu river flowing through the city is reduced to a drain and garbage has been dumped on its sides,” the court was informed.
The petitioner also said that multi-storeyed buildings have been made flouting the rules of the corporation and yet no action is being taken against the perpetrators.
The bench also queried the civic body on action taken for establishing a sewerage treatment plant to cleanse Ranchi Lake.
The municipal corporation has been directed to file a detailed status report in the matter within a week’s time.
Meanwhile, Kataruka in her petition has stated Ranchi Lake is infested with water hyacinth and has become the sewage pond of the municipal corporation.
All the sewage of the city is drained into the lake, the counsel mentioned in her petition.
She has also said that the depleting condition of the lake can be seen from its earlier pictures taken in the past few years.
“While comparing the pictures, the degradation of the waterbody is crystal clear,” the advocate said.
She also mentioned in her petition that heavy vehicles are parked alongside the road on the boundary of the lake.
These vehicles are washed and the dirty water trickles back into the lake.