By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 3: The High Court of Meghalaya, on Tuesday, rejected the ‘specious’ explanation furnished by the state justifying the recent opening of a café at Mawiong Rim overlooking Umiam Lake and close to stretches which serve as viewpoints over the water body.
The High Court also caught the state government in a position susceptible to rebuke as it noted deliberate omission on the part of the state to disclose material facts in other matters.
During the hearing of the PIL here on Tuesday, the state also sought to justify one of the metal containers being recently made functional to dispense packaged food, drinks and the like.
A report was filed which revealed that as far as the café is concerned, the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) initially granted consent to establish and, subsequently, consent to operate by setting down certain norms.
“Doubtless, a similar explanation is there for one of the metal containers operating as a knick-knack store. Several other metal containers installed over the last year, however, remain shut. Most of the railings both at such point and at viewpoints at lower levels have given way or are in such precarious condition that a slight touch may result in complete collapse, but the state has chosen to take no step in such regard,” the Court said.
It added that the explanation furnished by the state is completely unacceptable since the orders of this court required guidelines to be prepared by an expert panel so that construction and activities in and around the water bodies, particularly the Umiam, could be regulated and controlled.
The court emphasised that no new construction or activity could have been permitted as per previous orders around any water body without concrete guidelines in such regard being formulated.
“It is evident from an order dated May 24, 2023, that a set of draft guidelines was submitted in Court. Since the draft guidelines had been circulated to various departments for comments, the court granted time for the guidelines to be finalised. The court also repeated the subsisting injunction that neither the state nor the local authorities should allow any construction to come up within 50 metre of the high-water mark of the relevant water body without the express previous leave of the court,” it asserted.
It added that not only the construction around the water bodies, particularly the Umiam Lake, but the activities around the water bodies or near the water bodies also attracted the court’s attention.
Specific orders had previously been passed in respect of the café and in respect of a further construction much lower down near the Jackwell pumping station.
“On the other side of the road, automobile showrooms have opened and other business activities have also been permitted.
These also have an impact on the effluent discharged which are capable of reaching the Umiam waters, but the Court concentrated only on the construction works that were being undertaken on the waterside of the road, including the installation of the metal containers right on the edge of the water. It does not appear that at any point of time was it indicated to the Court that despite the guidelines not being in place, the Pollution Control Board had purported to issue consent to establish and consent to operate to the café or to the other dispensing unit functioning from a metal container,” the court observed.
On the other hand, the court also lambasted the state government over the deliberate omission on the part of the state to disclose material facts in other matters, which it said has come to light. “Thus, the attempt at deceit on the part of the state continues, obviously for extraneous considerations of those who run the administration, and to have no regard for either the rule of law or the welfare of the citizens or the need to protect the environment.”
The court also observed that the state had gone about allowing activities that had previously been stopped by the Court with scant regard for the Court and the mischief that the Court sought to arrest. “There is very little that the Court can do in public interest or to preserve the environment if the State compromises the interest of citizens,” the order of the High Court read.
Making it clear that the specious explanation furnished by the state is rejected, the High Court said that till such time that effective guidelines are prepared and presented before the court for its approval to preserve the water bodies in the state, particularly the Umiam, no new construction or commercial or business activity of any kind will be permitted around the principal water bodies that may endanger such water bodies.
“The state cannot satisfy the court that any measure is in place to ensure that nothing flowing out from the café would contaminate or otherwise disturb the water below. Much is the same about the dispensing unit from the metal container which hangs out from the edge of the road and is directly over the water body. There are six or seven other containers down the road which do not appear to be functional but which may enjoy the permission from the appropriate authorities. It is also a matter of concern that despite land in the state belonging primarily to the tribes and the tribal bodies, such bodies are careless in preserving the environment or protesting the action of the state or the Pollution Control Board in taking steps that have a potential to harm the people and the environment,” the High Court order read.
Since the two functioning units, meaning the cafe and the relevant dispensing unit from the metal container, have been temporarily closed, as per the state, the HC ordered that such temporary closure should continue till the matter appears next.
The matter will appear 10 days hence for the state to submit the new set of guidelines that ought to be in place, it added.