That the High Court has had to come down yet again on the Khasi Hills District Council for granting permission to build within 300 metres of the highest flood level of the Umiam Lake. The High Court of Meghalaya has now ordered all construction activities around Umiam Lake to be kept in abeyance till the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) come up with a more detailed report on whether it would be permissible to allow the construction to be completed. The High Court passed the order after a report filed by the KHADC after a joint inspection conducted with the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) last month found seven establishments had constructed buildings within 300 m of the highest flood level (HFL) of the lake. But the question crying out for an answer is – who gave the permission for construction of those commercial complexes right by the ridge adjoining the lake when it is evident that all the effluents and kitchen waste water would flow directly into the Umiam Lake which in any case of highly polluted and silted.
Even ordinary passers-by are aghast at the fact that someone should be constructing commercial complexes so close to the Lake. Is there any hill station anywhere that has a market at a viewpoint? Only Meghalaya has that dubious distinction of allowing markets to come up at every tourist spot, thereby marring the beauty of the place. At the moment there are several prefabricated cabins that look like little shops that are placed near the viewpoint. With so many shops around there is bound to be garbage and the people manning those shops would need latrines. It is inevitable that the areas around the ridge of the Umiam Lake would be the go to areas. At this rate how can the Umiam survive the human onslaught?
The KHADC has said that the permission for construction of commercial buildings that look like restaurants around the Umiam Lake were given by the local authorities which means the Dorbar Shnong and interestingly by the MSPCB. Since when has the Dorbar Shnong become the authority for granting environmental clearance for buildings to be constructed right next to the Lake? The High Court ordered that no future construction in or around the Umiam Lake, at least within 1000 metres from the HFL, will be allowed before strict norms for such construction and treatment of effluents are put in place. The Court has also ordered that a no-construction buffer zone of about 500 metres from the HFL should be put out by the appropriate authorities. This notification when it comes out must be strictly enforced.
