PIL in high court challenges Cauvery Aarti
Bengaluru: Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) by farmer leader Sunanda Jayaram challenging the proposed Cauvery Aarti programme near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam, the high court Friday ordered notice to the state govt, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd, and others.
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi directed authorities to submit a detailed response, including measures to ensure safety of the dam, by the next hearing on July 23.
Another PIL, challenging a tender to erect an amusement park at the dam, will also be heard the same day. K Boraiah and four residents questioned the May 13 tender notice to establish non-agricultural commercial exploitation in the dam region, covering about 198 acres and a project cost of Rs 2,663 crore.
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During Friday's hearing, the govt told the court that only a tender pertaining to a 120ft statue was finalised, and no decision was taken on constructing an amusement park. But the court asked if the govt had conducted a technical study or impact assessment, or if it had obtained expert opinion regarding the structural safety of the dam. The court even pointed out that in mining-related matters, the govt itself had contended that no activities affecting the environment were permissible within a 20km radius of KRS dam.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the authorities had not properly considered implications of its proposals. He also showed some photographs which suggested that some activities are underway, contrary to the claim of the respondents that no work was ongoing.
Jayaram contended that the proposal itself is unscientific as the authorities seek to perform Cauvery Aarti with a gathering of 20,000 to 25,000 people and this entails construction of a stadium for seating and parking facilities for 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles.
The petitioner claimed these developments could potentially compromise dam safety, cause water contamination, and disturb ecological equilibrium.
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