Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Monday slammed the Junagadh district collector for “taking the court for a ride” by evading the court’s queries in his affidavit with regards to the order to ban plastic use on the Girnar hills.
The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee rejected the affidavit filed by the collector with the remark, “The collector is taking this court for a ride, and we will not permit it.” The judges said that they would pass an order seeking the affidavit of the additional chief secretary of the forest and environment department and ask him to initiate an inquiry into the functioning of the Junagadh collector for issuing a temporary prohibition order for plastic use ban on the grounds of hurting pilgrims’ religious sentiments.
The HC said that the PIL filed by advocate Amit Panchal regarding unhygienic conditions around temples on the Girnar hills is not an adversarial litigation, but the collector is taking it like his prestige is affected by this and is trying to show vehemence to the court. The judges were upset over the affidavit filed by the collector in response to various queries posed by the HC last month. After the collector prohibited plastic use on Girnar hills, the petitioner pointed out that the Girnar hills fall in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Girnar wildlife sanctuary since 2012, and one of the statutory provisions in such ESZs is a ban on plastic use. The district collector happens to be a part of the monitoring committee for implementation of laws and rules in the ESZs.
The HC had sought the annual reports of the ESZ monitoring committee since 2012. The HC was not satisfied with the reply and repeatedly questioned whether any steps were taken to stop plastic use on the Girnar hills before the HC’s intervention. The HC has posted further hearing on Feb 28.
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The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee rejected the affidavit filed by the collector with the remark, “The collector is taking this court for a ride, and we will not permit it.” The judges said that they would pass an order seeking the affidavit of the additional chief secretary of the forest and environment department and ask him to initiate an inquiry into the functioning of the Junagadh collector for issuing a temporary prohibition order for plastic use ban on the grounds of hurting pilgrims’ religious sentiments.
The HC said that the PIL filed by advocate Amit Panchal regarding unhygienic conditions around temples on the Girnar hills is not an adversarial litigation, but the collector is taking it like his prestige is affected by this and is trying to show vehemence to the court. The judges were upset over the affidavit filed by the collector in response to various queries posed by the HC last month. After the collector prohibited plastic use on Girnar hills, the petitioner pointed out that the Girnar hills fall in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Girnar wildlife sanctuary since 2012, and one of the statutory provisions in such ESZs is a ban on plastic use. The district collector happens to be a part of the monitoring committee for implementation of laws and rules in the ESZs.
The HC had sought the annual reports of the ESZ monitoring committee since 2012. The HC was not satisfied with the reply and repeatedly questioned whether any steps were taken to stop plastic use on the Girnar hills before the HC’s intervention. The HC has posted further hearing on Feb 28.
We also published the following articles recently
If you dont perform, others will take your place: CS to collectors
The chief secretary’s meeting with district collectors followed a recent meeting between the chief minister, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and collectors and SPs. The circular also highlighted the importance of timely disposal of matters such as important letters, right to information applications, and grievances on the Sampark portal.
The chief secretary’s meeting with district collectors followed a recent meeting between the chief minister, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and collectors and SPs. The circular also highlighted the importance of timely disposal of matters such as important letters, right to information applications, and grievances on the Sampark portal.