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SC notices to Centre, states on national river network issue
New Delhi, Sept 16: The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and all the states on an application seeking a direction to the government to consider creating a Nationl River Network (NRN) in the country to overcome the problems of drought and floods.
New Delhi, Sept 16: The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre and all the states on an application seeking a direction to the government to consider creating a
Nationl River Network (NRN) in the country to overcome the problems of drought and floods.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Pasayat issued the notices on an application filed by advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been appointed by the court as counsel to assist it in hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Yamuna cleaning issue. The application said since the president in his address to the nation on the eve of this years' independence day had highlighted the drought and flood situations in many parts of the country, creating of a NRN could provide a permanent solution to these problems.
When there could be a national highway network, why a river network could not be built, the application asked. Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjwani submitted though the river water was a state subject, Article 56 of the constitution empowers the Centre to regulate on inter-state river and river valley matters in public the interest.
The application said till government enacts a law on the issue, court has power to give appropriate directions.
Regarding cleaning of Yamuna, Panjwani said as per the CPCB's latest report, there was hardly any improvement in the quality of its water. The tests had found "coliform" contents as high as 8 crore miligramms per liter (MGL) as against the permitted limit of 5,000 MGL, he said. Bureau Report
A bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Pasayat issued the notices on an application filed by advocate Ranjit Kumar, who has been appointed by the court as counsel to assist it in hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Yamuna cleaning issue. The application said since the president in his address to the nation on the eve of this years' independence day had highlighted the drought and flood situations in many parts of the country, creating of a NRN could provide a permanent solution to these problems.
When there could be a national highway network, why a river network could not be built, the application asked. Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjwani submitted though the river water was a state subject, Article 56 of the constitution empowers the Centre to regulate on inter-state river and river valley matters in public the interest.
The application said till government enacts a law on the issue, court has power to give appropriate directions.
Regarding cleaning of Yamuna, Panjwani said as per the CPCB's latest report, there was hardly any improvement in the quality of its water. The tests had found "coliform" contents as high as 8 crore miligramms per liter (MGL) as against the permitted limit of 5,000 MGL, he said. Bureau Report