HC issues notices to K'taka govt over punishment for erring civic officials under new BBMP Act
Bengaluru, Aug 10: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the state government on a public interest litigation (PIL) that seeks prescribing punishment to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) engineers/officials under the new BBMP Act 2020 for failing to prevent illegal and unauthorised constructions.
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vishwajith Shetty heard the petition by advocate Umapathi S, which points out that Section 252 of the BBMP Act provides the power to the state government for action against erring officers.
"Though there is delegation of power on the engineers to supervise illegal construction, yet there is no corresponding accountability on the part of erring officials. This is primarily due to the gross negligence on the part of the State to prescribe punishment under Section 252 of the BBMP Act," the petition says.
"Poor implementation will make even the greatest law ineffective. Therefore, the necessary rules should be framed at the earliest," the petition pleads.
Additional Chief Secretary in the Urban Development Department, and the BBMP Chief Commissioner are the respondents in the PIL.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
