Joshimath Land Subsidence: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Swami Avimukteshwaranand's plea on the Joshimath land subsidence seeking to declare the crisis as a national disaster. The court said that the matter is already being heard by Uttarakhand High Court. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked petitioner Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to approach the Uttarakhand High Court with his petition.
Joshimath, the gateway to famous pilgrimage sites like Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib and international skiing destination Auli, is facing a major challenge due to land subsidence.
The petitioner has contended the subsidence has occurred due to large-scale industrialisation and sought immediate financial assistance and compensation for the affected people.
"No development is needed at the cost of human life and their ecosystem and if any such thing is to happen, then it is the duty of the State and Union government to stop the same immediately at war level," the plea by the Seer said, as per news agency PTI.
During the hearing, the Uttarakhand government informed the top court that the matter is already pending before the High Court.
CJI said that the high court passed some orders on the matter on January 12. He added that the High Court was hearing a tragedy that happened last year, and at the same time, the matter of Joshimath also came up.
“Various demands were made in it, which are similar to the petition filed before us,” the court observed.
It further said that the HC has already sought answers on the constitution of the expert committee and answers have also been sought from NTPC.
“The High Court has also asked the government to stop the construction in Joshimath for the time being. We understand that the High Court is competent to hear. The relief sought by the petitioner, including rehabilitation, should be kept in the High Court only,” the apex court noted.
CJI Chandrachud said, “We will request the High Court that if the petitioner makes an application there, then it should be heard soon.”