Officials protecting those responsible: HC on Shivpuri sewer row

HC warns of action against officials, says Rs 111-crore Shivpuri sewerproject became a ‘glaring example of poor planning’Bhopal: Stepping up scrutiny in the long-running Shivpuri lake pollutioncase, the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday warnedthat it may summon the Director General of Forests if officials continue toshield those responsible for sewage flowing into the lakes of Madhav TigerReserve. The court also ordered a seven-day deadline for an expertcommittee to submit a report, directed former EPCO Executive Director AlkaUpadhyay to explain why an “incomplete” project was sanctioned, and saidthe State itself had admitted that the Rs 111-crore sewerage project was a“glaring example of no planning, bad execution and wastage of money.”The fresh directions came during the hearing of an ongoing public interestpetition in which the High Court has been monitoring the continueddischarge of untreated sewage into Sakhya Sagar and Jadhav Sagar lakesdespite the completion of the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP)sewerage project.The division bench of Justices G. S. Ahluwalia and Anuradha Shukla camedown heavily on both forest and civic authorities, observing that insteadof fixing responsibility they appeared to be protecting those responsible.The sharpest criticism was directed at the Deputy Director of Madhav TigerReserve, Hariom, who is investigating the alleged damage to forestproperty. The court noted that although notices had been issued toofficials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), MunicipalCouncil and Water Resources Department, no individual had been named as anaccused.When asked to point out any provision in criminal law or the WildlifeProtection Act requiring a suspect to be heard before being made anaccused, the officer could not do so. The bench observed that he appearedto be “hands in glove” with officials of the concerned departments and wastrying to protect them at the cost of forest property. It also reminded himof Article 20(3) of the Constitution, under which an accused cannot becompelled to be a witness against himself. The officer admitted before thecourt that he had committed “basic mistakes” during the investigation.

Instead of immediately passing adverse orders, the bench granted him sevendays to proceed strictly in accordance with law, while warning that if hecontinued to shield the guilty, the court could order the personalappearance of the Director General of Forests.The court also relied on an affidavit filed by the Additional ChiefSecretary (Urban Administration), saying it amounted to an admission by theState that the entire project suffered from poor planning, repeatedrevisions, cost escalations, delays and shrinking scope while failing toachieve its objective.The affidavit states that the sewerage project overshot its executiontimeline by several years, its cost multiplied, but the crucial householdsewer connections were never planned. It further admits that the municipalbody responsible for operating the sewerage system was not adequatelyconsulted while designing the project.Out of 4,125 sewer chambers constructed under the scheme, only 1,686 havebeen cleaned while the remaining remain clogged. The affidavit also sayscomplete sewage treatment is still impossible because tens of thousands ofhousehold sewer connections are yet to be provided, requiring freshplanning and additional funding.Referring to these admissions, the High Court said it was “really shocking”that despite the alleged waste of Rs 111 crore and pendency of the case forover one-and-a-half years, the government remained “in the status ofhibernation”. It further observed that officers representing the State hadattempted to mislead the court by manipulating facts without informingtheir senior officers.The bench said its concern was not merely diverting sewage away from thelakes but ensuring that forest land, lake beds, aquatic life, wildlife andvegetation were fully protected.The court noted that untreated sewage continues to enter Sakhya Sagar Lake.While officials claimed efforts were being made to divert wastewaterthrough a separate channel, PHED Chief Engineer V.K. Chhari admitted thatunderground leakages would continue, resulting in sewage mixing with thelake.The judges said such measures appeared to be an attempt to camouflage theissue rather than resolve it.Finding that the original project itself appeared fundamentally incomplete,the court directed that former EPCO Executive Director Alka Upadhyay beimpleaded as a respondent and ordered her to file an affidavit explainingwhy an incomplete project was prepared and sanctioned despite knowing itwould not make the sewerage system functional.The State had proposed that an expert committee be given one month to studythe problem. The bench questioned why experts would require 30 days toprepare a technical report and instead directed that the committee beconstituted by July 4 and submit its report within seven days afterinspecting the site.The committee has also been asked to recommend measures for completelystopping sewage from entering Sakhya Sagar and Jadhav Sagar lakes.The High Court further directed the State to explain how it proposes tofinance diversion and repair works after already spending Rs 111 crore onthe failed project. It observed that merely promising future recoveriesfrom contractors or officials would involve lengthy departmentalproceedings and litigation and could not become an excuse for delayingcorrective action.The bench also criticised PHED Chief Engineer V.K. Chhari after he admittedthat he had repeatedly noticed sewage leakages during inspections butneither prepared inspection reports nor issued directions for correctivemeasures. The court observed that despite being aware of the pollution, heremained silent and had failed to discharge his duties.The matter will now be heard on July 13, when the High Court will examinethe progress made by the expert committee, the forest department’sinvestigation, and the explanations sought from the officials.