Telangana High Court had directed the Principal Secretaries of Irrigation, Mines and Geology and Roads and Buildings and GHMC Commissioner to appear before it if they fail to respond to the court directions in three PIL petitions.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili, taking a serious note of the four top officials failing to file their responses despite the court’s earlier orders in the pleas, passed the fresh direction seeking their personal appearance. In a PIL petition filed by a citizen Sitaramaraju from JJ Colony of Saket, the HC directed the GHMC Commissioner to file a detailed affidavit by March 29, 2020 on the steps taken to shift garbage dumping yards to three different sites from the present Jawaharnagar dumping yard.
The bench during the previous hearing observed that none of the three alternative sites (located in Medak and Rangareddy districts ) for dumping yards were within GHMC’s possession. The bench also noted that, referring to the dry resource centers claimed to have been established by GHMC, were existing or not. The petitioner stated that with the capping of Jawaharnagar dumping yard becoming inadequate, stench was pervading all homes located in surrounding Yapral and Kapra making lives of people miserable.
In another PIL petition filed by a businessman Gaffar Khan of Narsingi stating that authorities failed to check encroachments of Bulkapur nala land, the HC earlier instructed the authorities to file their counter affidavits. However, even after lapse of a year the officials did not file any responses. The petitioner alleged that illegal structures were being raised on the land abutting the nala.
A citizen K. Sudarshan Reddy filed a separate PIL plea alleging failure of official machinery in stalling illegal excavation of silt and soil at Gajwel in Siddipet district. The illegal excavation of minor irrigation tanks in the area was endangering the stability of embankment of the tanks, he stated. The HC earlier issued notices to officials of different departments but none filed their responses so far.
Seeking appearance of the officials if they fail to file their affidavits within four weeks, the bench posted the pleas after summer vacation for next hearing.
