PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS in both the writ petitions Praveen Khandelwal and Rajendra Kumar Rajdan have highlighted the problems concerning the lakes in the City of Udaipur. They have expressed concern regarding increasing pollution in lakes and desired that supply of clean drinking water should be given top priority. They have also expressed concern about the increasing number of hotels near Pichhola Lake. It is stated that more than one lac people reside and there are about seventy hotels around the lakes in Udaipur City to discharge their effluent into Pichhola, Swaroop Sagar and Fateh Sagar Lakes. In short, the lakes which were life line of the inhabitants of City of Udaipur, are rapidly turning into a death trap on account of the pollution in water, heavy siltation and encroachments. Reference has also been made to some of the writ petitions filed earlier and the directions given therein.

(2.) UDAIPUR Lake System is very old and well known in the Country for its scenic beauty. Thus, it is called as City of Lakes. Located in Serane Saucer shaped UDAIPUR Valley and drained by a tributary of Berach river system, this lake system has harboured, cherished and nurtured a unique ecological wetland system. There are mainly four lakes, which are collecting the fresh rain water-They are- (1) Pichhola Lake (2) Swaroop Sagar Lake (3) Fateh Sagar Lake and (4) Badi Lake Besides the above, there are rural lakes called Udai Sagar Lake and Udai Niwars Lake. All these lakes are inter-connected. These lakes have made the landscape attractive for the tourists all over the world. The million of people of UDAIPUR District are taking use of water for drinking purpose as well. Unfortunately, these major source of drinking water have gone degraded over a period of years due to human activities such as sewage disposal, bathing and washing activities etc. There has been indiscriminate addition of ingredients by way of domestic wastes. A high concentration of habitation around the lakes is one of the main cause of affecting water problem. Hotel complexes and residential colonies are coming up around the lakes, which have further deteriorated the quality of the water.

(3.) A reply has been filed on behalf of the Municipal Corporation, Udaipur. It is averred that the P. H. E. D. , Department of Rajasthan, is mainly responsible for the supply of drinking water. According to the statistics of the PHED Department, presently, the population of the Udaipur City is about 4. 50 lacs and the total domestic demand at the rate of 140 LPCD is about 63. 00 MLD. The main surface water sources for the supply of water in the City of Udaipur are lakes-Fateh Sagar, Pichhola, Jaisamand and Badi. The water from these sources are filtered at nine places of Urban Water Supply Scheme. It is further averred that after commissioning of Jai Samand Scheme. 20 MLD water is pumped to Udaipur and withdrawal of raw water from lake Pichhola has been reduced. The major part of raw water for this Urban Scheme is now being supplemented from lake Jaisamand, Fateh Sagar and Badi. The raw water after undergoing the treatment process is free from colour, algae and turbidity and is crystal clear, which is being tested to satisfy the chemical standards of drinking water as per WHO ISS (10500-1983) and Ministry of Works & Housing, Govt. of India. The water after undergoing the filteration treatment process is also tested for Bacteriological test of drinking water and Residual Chlorine at tail end localities of the town. Thus, according to the Municipal Corporation, completely treated potable water is being supplied to the town. With respect to the sewrage line, it is averred that they are the assets of the PHED and maintained by the Municipal Corporation. Some details have been given to show that the efforts have been made to prevent pollution in lakes. It is pointed out that Waste Land Board of the Government of India has sanctioned Rs. 252 lacs for construction of 45 Micro Water-shed projects to prevent silt and dirt falling into the lakes. Works have been undertaken in 3044 hectares to plant trees on the hills to develop the grazing, pasture land and utilise barren land. The D. R. D. A. has also taken 18 water-shed projects covering 7770 hectares at the cost of Rs. 31 lacs in the catchment area to prevent solid waste and silt. It is also averred that looking to the over all difficulty and the problem, an agreement has also been entered between the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur and the Govt. of Rajasthan through the Collector, Udaipur. The Terms of Reference is under the heading "implementation of Short Term Ecological Engineering Measures for Construction of Lakes Eco System in Udaipur. A copy of the agreement has also been placed on record.