Rainwater floods Nagpur High Court premises; NMC, PWD told to inspect sewer line jointly

The waterlogging of rainwater in the Nagpur High Court premises has come up before the court itself. Jan Manch has filed a public interest litigation in the High Court over several problems in Nagpur district, including cement roads and the accumulation of water in homes during rain. During the hearing, Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke and Justice Raj Wakode raised the issue of waterlogging that had occurred in the High Court premises during heavy rain.

The court also directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and the Public Works Department (PWD) to carry out an immediate joint inspection over the serious problem of the choked sewer line.

Advocate P. W. Mirza, appearing for the petitioner, told the hearing that, in compliance with the court's order of October 12, the NMC had appointed an executive engineer as nodal officer. A meeting was held with this nodal officer on October 23, but the officer expressed inability to communicate with the superintending engineer and other departments concerned.

The court said clearly that all departments concerned should coordinate among themselves and discuss the issues raised in the petition. It directed the petitioner's counsel to bring the matter on record through an affidavit, and gave time until October 30 for this.

Several points emerged in the affidavit. Additional Government Pleader Uke drew the court's attention to the order of September 21 and to a report by the High Court Registrar. According to the report, during heavy rain water had seeped into the Government Pleader's office and the BB 1 chamber in the High Court's North Building.

In addition, water had entered the inner corridor of the South Building through the women's toilet. Water had also seeped through the floor of the Deputy Registrar's chamber in the main building.

The affidavit also stated that there is an old sewer line built by the municipal corporation in front of Gates 6 and 7. If this line gets choked, water flowing out of the High Court premises flows back and fills the ground-floor area of the High Court building. The affidavit seeks a direction to the NMC to maintain this sewer line regularly, especially during the monsoon.

The court was also told that a pipeline damaged by improper maintenance has been repaired. The Finance Department has sanctioned Rs 128 crore for forest guard quarters across the state. The court expressed the hope that the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest Department would take an appropriate decision on the allocation of this amount within the next three weeks.