M.A. JOSE Vs. VADAVUKODU PUTHENCRUZ GRAMA PANCHAYATH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in the above writ petitions are neighboring property owners, who have rival contentions with respect to the activity carried on in two buildings in Re-survey No.121/22, Block 39 of Puthencruz Village owned by the petitioners in W.P.(C) No.15370 of 2016. The petitioner in W.P.(C) No.31925 of 2015 resides in his property; carries on a provision store in one part of the ground floor and has let out the first floor to State Bank of Travancore. He is aggrieved with the occupation of the nearby premises by the migrant labourers, far in excess of the capacity of the building and the abysmal conditions in which they are housed resulting in contamination of ground water in the locality; especially rendering the well water of the petitioner useless for drinking water purposes and causing untold misery to his family and occupants of his building from the waste and waste water ejected into his building and the constant stench emanating from the neighboring property.

(2.) The parties are referred to from their status in W.P.(C) No.31925 of 2015. The petitioner had complained before the various authorities, who are impleaded as the official respondents in the writ petition, against the activities of respondents 5 and 6, which culminated in action being taken by the Panchayat to close down the activities carried on in the objectionable buildings. The said order is challenged by the respondents in the other writ petition, W.P.(C) No.15370 of 2016.

(3.) Referring to W.P.(C) No.31925 of 2015, it is to be noticed that the petitioner, the neighboring resident, has obtained a report of analysis of his well water sample from the Regional Analytical Lab, Kakkanad, Ernakulam, produced as Exhibit P1. A mere scan of the report indicates many contaminants in excess of the permissible limit. Emphatic notice has to be taken of the presence of Coliform at the rate of 1600mpn/100ml while the permissible limit as per WHO standards {World Health Organisation} is lesser than 2mpn./100ml. Similarly, the standards for drinking water quality, speaks of total absence of E-coli bacteria, while Exhibit P1 report reveals its presence. The report concludes the presence of contaminants beyond the permissible limit and declares the water to be unfit for domestic purposes for reason of the bacteriological quality being unsatisfactory.