DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand High Court on Monday took suo moto cognizance of a letter sent by the concerned citizenry of Nainital in December regarding the preservation of Sukhatal Lake and stopping concretization.
Dr. Vishal Singh, one of the experts who has been working on Sukhatal and Naini lake for over a decade now said, "The letter showcases the immense faith that people of India have in the judiciary, and also sets an example that research and society can bring about a change in autocratic decision making."
Sukhatal lake is the catchment area of Naini lake in Nainital and is vital to the lake's and related ecosystem's survival.
According to experts, the Sukhatal recharges 30-40% of the Naini lake.
Treating the letter written in December 2021 and signed by over 100 people as the public interest litigation the court listed it as the PIL.
The citizens also submitted a set of expert findings that establish the social/ecological and scientific grounds for our concerns.
"We request his Lordship to kindly intervene in this matter by taking suo moto cognizance and stop the authorities from making this monumental mistake, as much damage has already been done to the city. This development is a recipe for disaster leading to a bigger tragedy than one faced by the Chorabari lake outburst in Kedarnath and downstream in 2013," said the letter.
"The people of Nainital beg and seek his Lordship’s attention and request to take suo moto cognizance of the ongoing destruction happening on Sukhatal lake in the name of development. This catchment area and recharge zone has directly been feeding the Nainital lake in the lean months for the past 100 years and more. Therefore, we need to register our concern about the unscientific and unwanted development of Sukhatal lake," said the letter.
The civil society pointing out in the letter that concerns were raised at the town meeting held with the Nainital Administration at the Lake Development Office (Nainital) on July 14, 2021, stated that in response, a panel of four experts was constituted to provide the necessary feedback and guidance on the planned project.
Since then, the people say that they have been told that no information has been passed to the experts, and so, as concerned citizens fear that the authorities will go ahead with their plan of concretization of the lake bed.
"This is visible through the ongoing activities in Sukhatal. This will alter the hydrological regime of Sukhatal and impair its natural property of water infiltration, leading to severe and adverse consequences for lake Nainital and the city as a whole. Hence his Lordship is the only resort we are left with to take up this matter urgently, " the letter stated.
Opining that the promotion of tourism should not come at the cost of environmental degradation the letter revealed that some of the experts in the panel constituted by the then commissioner of Nainital remain unaware of the developments taking place in Sukhatal.
"The Sukhatal development requires inputs from Hydrogeologists, Geomomorphologists, Semiologists, Ecologists, Water Policy experts, and Wetland specialists. It is our humble request to his Lordship that a holistic approach is taken before proceeding with the plan, and that his Lordship may appoint scientists from these different backgrounds to submit an independent report on the Sukhatal development report," said the people in the letter.
Furthermore, Nainital was extremely lucky to have survived the October downpour, and nature has sent a signal to Nainital, its caretakers and residents the letter said that this good fortune may not be the case in the future.