Tripura High Court directs state Chief Secretary to file affidavit on restoration of Rudrasagar Lake

The Tripura High Court has directed the state Chief Secretary, JK Sinha, to file a detailed affidavit on or before April 11 informing about the steps which have been already taken and the steps which are to be taken to restore the same.

The division bench headed by Chief Justice (Acting) T Amarnath Goud and Justice Arindam Lodh said, ''When the case is called, Principal Secretary, PWD (Water Resource), Government of Tripura was present before the Court and submits that with respect to his domain, the order of this Court in maintaining water body has been complied with but with regard to the other departments like Revenue and Irrigation, etc., he cannot give any assurance''.

“In view of the above statement, this Court directs the Chief Secretary, Government of Tripura to file his affidavit with regard to the originality of the Rudrasagar Project and the water body in and around the Neermahal Palace and the present status of Rudrasagar and its water body and also the steps which have already been taken and the steps which are to be taken to restore the said project”, the court order reads.

It further said that S S Dey, learned Advocate General, assisted by D Bhattacharjee, learned G A appearing for the respondents has submitted before this Court to pass an order directing the state government to deploy sufficient police force in and around the said project to curtail the activities of the miscreants.

“This Court is not in a position to appreciate the request made by the Advocate General since it is the domain of the State Government to take care of the law and order with sufficient police personnel and also to protect the tourism and the historic places of Tripura more particularly, the Rudrasagar Project in terms of environmental development. In the event, that the Court passes any order in this regard, then an impression would go that the Government has failed to maintain law and order and the judiciary has taken steps into the shoes of the executives. Since it is not proper for the moment to consider this request; this Court is not entering into the same”, the order read further.

The court also pointed out that the state government is at liberty to take all steps with regard to maintaining law and order to protect the environmental situation of the Rudrasagar Project and also to comply with all the orders which have been passed in respect of the subject matter of the case.

“The Chief Secretary, Government of Tripura shall positively file his affidavit on or before 11th April 2023. Let the matter be listed on 11.04.2023. Personal appearance of the Principal Secretary, PWD (Water Resource), Government of Tripura, stands dispensed with,” it added.

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