A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Center to set up a committee headed by a retired judge to look into the issue of Joshimath submergence in Uttarakhand and rehabilitation of the affected families. Hundreds of houses in Joshimath, the gateway to some famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, have developed cracks.
Petitioner and advocate Rohit Dandriyal claimed that the construction activities carried out by the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways and Power, New and Renewable Energy in Joshimath city over the years have acted as a catalyst in the present scenario and ‘violation’ of fundamental rights ‘ done. of the residents there.
What does the petition say?
Highlighting the distress of over 3000 people of Joshimath, the petition states that at least 570 houses have developed cracks due to the continuous land subsidence.
The report claims that after land subsidence due to climate and infrastructure changes, more than 60 families are reported to have left the city, while others are either risking their lives by staying there or finding alternative accommodation in winter are looking for.
The petition states, “Respondent No. 1 (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) has invested Rs 12,000 crore in the connectivity improvement program for Char-Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri) in Uttarakhand.”
The petition states that the Ministry of Power has also invested Rs 2,976.5 crore through NTPC and the Tapovan Vishnugarh power plant in 2013 for an under-construction 520 MW power run-of-river project on the Dhauliganga river in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. is introduced. It sought a direction to the authorities to constitute a high-powered joint committee headed by a retired High Court judge and representatives of all concerned ministries to inspect the affected areas and look into the issue and rehabilitate the affected people.
Joshimath is slowly sinking and huge cracks are appearing in houses, roads and fields. Local people said that many houses have caved in.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered immediate evacuation of 600 families living in at-risk houses.
PM Modi talks with CM Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding Joshimath
On Sunday, there was a telephonic conversation between PM Modi and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on the Joshimath issue. After talking to the PM, Dhami said that the PM has assured all possible help to save Joshimath. He further said that the situation in Joshimath and the steps taken for the rehabilitation of the victims were discussed during the call. “The situation in Joshimath is being analysed. We will also see whether other hill towns have reached the tolerance limit,” Dhami said.
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