Guj HC raps AMC over inadmissible affidavit for Sabarmati pollution
Updated: Mar 16th, 2024
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| Sabarmati Rive, Ahmedabad |
The Gujarat High Court on Mar 15 came down heavily on the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for its failure to submit a satisfactory affidavit on the steps taken to check pollution in the Sabarmati River.
A judicial bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Vaibhavi D Nanavati was hearing a suo moto petition on this issue, where it expressed displeasure over the fact that the AMC had not filed a proper affidavit despite being given several opportunities. The court even threatened to reject the affidavit and summon the municipal commissioner.
“If you do not care about the orders of the High Court, then the High Court will take action in its own way,” it said.
The court also slammed the corporation for filing a “useless” affidavit and directed it to file a fresh one by Mar 22.
The court also expressed serious concern over the ambiguity in the page numbers and details of the affidavit.
“The High Court has asked the AMC how many sewage treatment plants (STPs) are required in Ahmedabad city and how many STPs will be required in the next 15-20 years. What is AMC’s future plan for this? The AMC’s senior lawyers have not been able to answer this. It seems that the AMC lawyers do not understand what the High Court is trying to say. The High Court is asking for a blueprint for the STPs from the AMC, but the AMC lawyers keep repeating the same thing. It seems that they do not understand the question of the court,” the bench stated.
The AMC, on its part, said that it had entrusted the work of STPs to a Dutch company and had received a report from it.
The court, however, pulled up the AMC lawyers and asked them whether the report was discussed in a meeting before this hearing and whether any decision was taken on it.
The court also pointed out that the affidavit was filed by the deputy municipal commissioner, even though the court had sought a response from the municipal commissioner.
Details in GPCB’s affidavit
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), in its affidavit, said that there was an urgent need for the AMC to increase the capacity of its STPs.
It said that there was a need to increase the treatment capacity of four STPs where untreated sewage was found.
Alongside, eight STPs that were found to be non-functional need to be upgraded and made more efficient.
The GPCB has issued notices to nine STPs and a show-cause notice to one.
The GPCB’s investigation found that only three of them were operating as per the mandatory norms. Four were partially complying, while four were not complying with the norms at all.
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