The Uttarakhand High Court pulled up the state governmnet and the Centre over the ongoing smart city projects in the capital city of Dehradun without adhering to environmental laws.
Taking cognizance of ‘unplanned’ and ‘illegal’ construction activities leading to detrimental impacts on Dehradun’s environment and rivers, the court asked the central and state governments to provide details of the funds used for implementing the smart city projects.
A bench of acting Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal was hearing a PIL filed by Delhi resident Akash Vashistha on Thursday over the lackadaisical approach of the authorities concerned towards the haphazard and illegal construction work in the capital city.
The court questioned the state on permitting unabated construction activities in the absence of the mandatory constitution of a tourism development board and the Doon Valley Master Plan for Dehradun.
It also asked the state tourism secretary to be present before the court in the next hearing of the case on December 8.
Nearly 90 per cent of funds for the smart city projects across the country are being provided by the Centre to various state governments.
A notification issued by the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh government (when Uttarakhand was its part) in 1989 had made construction work in Dehradun under the mandatory supervision of the Doon Valley Master Plan and a special development board for the state capital.
Vashistha has alleged in the PIL that Dehradun has been converted into a mass of concrete by the massive unchecked construction activities and erosion of vegetation. He further claimed that the ongoing concretisation of the Uttarakhand capital has badly impacted forest covers in its surroundings and resulted into drying away of all seasonal rivers.