PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, hardly two scores and tour, being public spirited, knocked at the doors of this Court as pro bono publico, being moved by the catastrophe and cataclysm of the earthquake that shook the city of Jabalpur and its nearby places in the later part of the last millennium and sought for issuance of certain directions so that natural calamity does not sweep away the man built civilisation and cause insurmountable disaster. The specific reliefs, which have been sought, shall be adverted to at the appropriate stage.

(2.) THE facts as have been uncurtained are that on 22-5-1997 the city of Jabalpur and its surrounding areas were rocked by an earthquake. The earthquake occurring on that day was recorded as one of the major earthquakes caused in India measuring 6. 0 Richter Scale. Hardly before the nightmarish and terrifying effect of the earthquake had vanished from the mind of the people, on 17-10-2000 an earthquake of mild intensity again rocked the similar area and the Richter Scale measured it at 5. 2. On 23-01-2001 a further tremor created a sense of corroding fear in the minds of the people and it was measured as 3. 7 on the Richter Scale. The paper cuttings indicating occurrence of the said earthquake have been brought on record as Annexure P-2 and Annexure P-4.

(3.) ACCORDING to the writ petitioners, the experts and scientists of the country have already declared Jabalpur city in the seismic zone where danger of massive quakes looms large. A reference has been made to the devastating disaster that has totally shaken the State of Gujarat in many a sphere. It has been pleaded that records clearly indicate that at Gujarat there were minor earthquakes earlier and this is indication of there being possibility of disastrous earthquake occurring in future in and around Jabalpur and the said possibility cannot be totally ignored or marginalised. It is putforth in the petition that lesson should be learnt from the Gujarat calamity which has caused enormous loss of life and colossal loss of property. On the face of the natural cataclysm the role of man has become quite insignificant and this failure has occurred due to lack of timely aid and expertise to handle the situation after the earthquake occurs. It is setforth in the petition that trained Sniffer dogs from Switzerland proved useful in Gujarat in locating living people under the debris and, therefore, arrangements are to be made to face such situation in future so that, a stitch in time can minimize the loss of life and property from the catastrophe by adopting a foresighted policy of crisis management. Blame has been put on the administration which had not taken care like grant of sanction of building plan which has led to collapsing of newly constructed buildings like a pack of cards. It is putforth that a chain of earthquakes that occurred, the tectonic movements and soil types can be of some assistance to predict few earthquakes and also to meet the challenge as far as Jabalpur is concerned, as it is in the quake-prone zone. It has been staled in the petition that neither the Central Administration nor the State Administration has taken any positive steps to predict and manage impending disaster and, therefore, the petitioner has been constrained to file the present public interest litigation to save the lives of the people. With these averments prayer has been made to command the Government to establish a permanent crisis Management Cell to deal effectively with future calamities; to submit blueprint for the same within a reasonable period of time; as a precautionary measure to construct canals from the Bargi Dam to lessen the water pressure; not to allow further urban construction without the earthquake resistant technology; to conduct systematic survey of the buildings damaged in the previous earthquakes and to carry out the repairs and to issue direction for demolition of buildings which are not repairable.