HYDERABAD: Expressing displeasure over inaction of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials in preventing pollution of lakes in the city, a division bench of the Telangana High Court on Monday asked the officials concerned, including the GHMC commissioner, to resign from their posts if they cannot discharge their duties properly.
There would be serious consequences if the water bodies are not protected, the bench warned. The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice K Laxman was dealing with a taken up PIL based on a news item published in a vernacular daily highlighting contamination of a pond near Kukatpally lake developed specifically for immersion of idols and flowers during Ganesh Chaturdhi and Bathukamma festivals.
It also stated that the people living in the surrounding areas have been suffering with health problems due to foul smell emanating from the pond which is contaminated due to throwing of garbage and filth.
When the matter came up for hearing, the bench reminded the people’s sufferings due to contamination of water bodies in Bengaluru city where multi-storeyed buildings were constructed in the periphery of lakes and releasing affluents into the water bodies.
After perusing the contents of the counter affidavit filed by the GHMC, the bench pointed out that no dates have been mentioned with regards to removal of garbage every 15 days as officials claimed.
Even the photos placed before it on the issue have not disclosed the date and time, the bench said.In reply, the GHMC counsel sought some more time for placing the required material before the court for perusal. The bench posted the matter to February 7 for further hearing.