Ganga plan: Court asks Centre to keep status quo

January 5^th 2002

ALLAHABAD: A division bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Centre and the state government to maintain status quo with regard to closure of the Allahabad and Kolkata regional offices of Ganga Action Plan (GAP).

The bench, consisting of Chief Justice S K Sen and Justice R K Agrawal, admitted the PIL petition, filed by a local social worker Anand Mohan of Allahabad. The court asked the central and state governments to file a counter-affidavit in this case within three weeks.

The petitioner, Anand Mohan, has challenged an impugned letter issued by the ministry of environment and forests Government of India, on November 29, 2001, whereby it was disclosed that gov ernment has decided to close the Regional Offices at Allahabad and Kolkata. In fact the Expenditure Reforms Commission set-up by government of India, has also recommended for the closure of Allahabad and Kolkata offices of GAP.

The petitioner has alleged that regional offices of GAP at Allahabad and Kolkata were set-up by the former prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi to make the Ganga free from pollution particularly in UP, Bihar and West Bengal states. It has been contended in the court that since the object for establishing GAP offices were not fulfilled therefore closure of its regional offices is arbitrary and illegal and against the emotions of crores of Indian People.

The petitioner has prayed that regional directorate/ offices of GAP / National River Conservation Directorate, situated at Allahabad and Kolkata, should not be allowed to be closed down, shifted or wind-up, on the basis of the impugned letter, issued by the Union ministry of environment and Forests Government of India.

The basis behind passing the said impugned order was that regional offices of this Directorate at Allahabad and Kolkata were set up for liasoning with the government of U P, Bihar and West Bengal in respect of projects under the GAP Phase-I which was completed in March 2000. The Directorate has since expanded its activities to 18 states and 27 rivers and the monitoring work in respect of all the schemes / projects now is being done from the Headquarters in New Delhi.