Have you formed panel for Sukhna revival plan, HC asks Chandigarh administration

Chandigarh ,The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday asked the Chandigarh administration whether it had formed a panel to devise a revival plan for Sukhna Lake.

The direction was issued by the high court bench of justices AK Mittal and Ramendra Jain during the resumed hearing of a suo motu petition initiated in 2009 on the lake revival.

During the hearing, it was pointed out that in August 2011, the high court had directed the administration to constitute a panel with a senior official on board to look into the issues related to upkeep, revival and maintenance of the lake. But it is not known whether such a panel existed, it was averred. The panel was to look into short- and long-term plan for the lake revival.

The HC bench also observed that the only option now left was of waiting for the rains the dams and lakes are drying up as due to harsh summer.

The observations were made as one of the counsels pointed out that the water level in the lake had been falling drastically these days due to a rise in temperature. The lake was supplied 1.5 million gallons daily (MGD) water from tubewells between January and March but it did not help in increasing the water level.

The court was apprised by senior UT standing counsel Suvir Shegal that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, had agreed to survey the lake and examine the issue of bringing more water to it. He said the other proposals received from the tricity residents on the lake revival were also being examined.

The problem of poor upkeep of toilets was also brought before the court by one of the counsels, upon which the court asked the UT administration to look into the issue. The matter would now be taken up on May 1.