Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
The Allahabad High Court on December 21, 2023 stayed the demolitions being carried out in Akbar Nagar-I and II in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh till the next date of listing. No demolition should be carried out in the entire area, the order said.
The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) should give residents a reasonable time of four weeks to apply under the scheme and residents should be free to apply within that time, according to the court.
The LDA should then take immediate steps to resettle those who have applied under the relocation scheme and obtain vacant physical possession of the current premises in their occupation, according to the order.
The petitioners “have not been able to demonstrate any prima-facie title in their favour, but have successfully established their possession, even if the said possession is an illegal one,” the High Court said.
However, “huge occupations by the relatively poor class of people are being proposed to be demolished forthwith without even waiting for the scheme of relocating the adversely affected persons” and also “exposing the poorest of the poor to the ensuing harsh winters,” it added.
Among the rights derived from Article 21 of the Indian Constitution is the right to earn a living, which will be affected, the order stated. It is the duty of the state and its instrumentalities to ensure that Article 21 is not violated in order to give effect to the state’s other obligations, which include the obligation to resettle, which is also discharged by the LDA, it further said.
The High Court of Himachal Pradesh on December 21 directed the secretary, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Kangra to visit Radhe Krishna Cow Sanctuary in Luthan, Kangra and verify the allegations of mismanagement levelled by a petitioner against the respondents. A report is to be submitted to the court on the next date of hearing, January 10, 2024.
The order came on the heels of a public interest litigation filed by Pawan Kumar, alleging rampant neglect and mismanagement leading to the deaths of over 1,200 cows within just two years.
The high-level committee in a meeting on October 10, 2023 observed that the plan for rejuvenation of Najafgarh lake requires sizeable land and thus the area must be assessed based on both requirement and availability of land, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was told.
The Wetland Authority of India had filed a report regarding the remedial action taken to ensure rejuvenation of the Najafgarh lake situated on the Delhi-Gurgaon border.
The Najafgarh Wetlands Committee, chaired by the district magistrate (south-west), has been asked to determine a realistic area of the Najafgarh lake so that the environment management plan can be modified / finalised accordingly.
The waterbody is located partly in the national capital territory of Delhi and partly in Haryana. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee monitors the quality of its water on a quarterly basis, the report added.
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