The Supreme Court has said that courts cannot be unmindful when precious water bodies remain unprotected, while directing all states and authorities to undertake physical ground-truthing and demarcation of wetlands.
In order to achieve this objective, the Court reiterated its directions to States and Wetland Authorities to undertake physical ground-truthing of water bodies, if not already done, and file a compliance affidavit detailing the mode and method adopted for the exercise. The top court was hearing a PIL by bird enthusiast Anand Arya, advocate M. K. Balakrishnan and NGO Vanashakti.
“This Court cannot remain a mere spectator or be unmindful of the consequences flowing from water bodies remaining unprotected,” the Bench said. The Court initially said the affidavits should be filed within an outer limit of four weeks. “Yet, being alive to the situation, we deem it proper to grant four months’ time to complete the said exercise,” the Bench said. The top court said even after nine years from the date of publication of the Rules, ground-truthing and demarcation have not been completed or concluded.
