YOGENDRA KUMAR YADAV Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has approached this Court seeking the following relief:

(2.) VERY briefly put the case of the petitioner is as follows: Proper survey was done by the respondent Authorities and under the signatures of Superintending Engineer, etc. for the path of river Nihai and this path was far away from Village Gyanpur Godhi. The complaint is that the Authorities of the Irrigation Department changed the path of the river while digging and in a completely irrational, illogical and arbitrary manner did the river away from the sanctioned path towards the Village Gyanpur Godhi. Representations were made by the villagers of village Gyanpur Godhi as well as adjacent villages in which directions were given to the Assistant Engineer to dig the path according to the map. Representation was given and the petitioner is before us.

(3.) A counter affidavit is filed by the Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, where inter alia, it is stated that the people of the locality have encroached upon the land and obstructed the flow of the water of the river Nihai. As a result of which, during rainy season, the water spreads towards the habitation which have also come up illegally and causes problem of water logging. The people of the area made an application to the authorities to relieve them of such menace. The digging was done pursuant to the demand and it was done for the welfare of the people of the locality. River Nihai which is a part of the Nanak Sagar Dam, Udham Singh Nagar in fact was encroached upon by covering up it which has obstructed the flow of the water. They have produced the Sub Divisional Magistrate's Certificate. The digging work was carried out to stream line the river water as the flow of river Nihai was obstructed. It is stated that the alignment map was prepared before carrying out the digging work of river Nihai and in this process the minimum length for the digging work has been chosen so that the same could involve less expenditure. But, at the same time, the safety of the people of the locality was kept in mind and the digging work was carried out from the place which is at equal distance from the habitation on both sides. Paragraph 8 of the counter affidavit reads as follows: "8. In reply to the contents of para 5 of the writ petition it is submitted that before carrying out the digging work the alignment map was prepared and before the present digging work, already the digging work under MANREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Ruler Employment Guarantee Act) was carried out on the same alignment. The river Nihai is a part of the Nanak Sagar Dam, Udham Singh Nagar which has illegally been encroached upon by the people and the flow of the river Nihai has been obstructed by covering up it with silt/sand which is being cleared so that there is no water logging. The habitations on both sides of river Nihai have come up unauthorizely since the area in question is the part of the Nanak Sagar Dam, Udham Singh Nagar."