Chandigarh Municipal Corporation in dock for flooding of High Court premises

Chandigarh, December 1

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has landed itself in the dock following the flooding of the Punjab and Haryana High Court premises after Thursday’s downpour. The Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma asserted the building premises, being a heritage site, held utmost relevance in the States of Punjab and Haryana, along with UT Chandigarh. Such inaction on the part of the corporation concerned in maintaining the proper drainage system on the High Court premises raised serious question on its effective working.

The assertion came as the Bench took suo motu cognisance of the alleged negligence on the part of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, and/or the Administration concerned in addressing the aftermath of heavy downpour. The issue was brought to the attention of the court by members of the Bar Association, who highlighted the severe clogging of lanes leading to the High Court and the parking area within the premises. The members informed the Bench that the heavy rainfall had caused disruptions, hindering the smooth functioning of the court. They expressed concerns over the lack of preventive measures taken by the Administration to prevent such incidents.

“The members of the High Court Bar Association, who are appearing today before this Court, intimate that there is clogging of the lanes leading up to the High Court, besides there is clogging of the parking area reserved as such in the premises of High Court. This has happened on account of the heavy downpour, but no preventive steps have yet been taken by the administration, to ensure that such ill happenings are precluded to re-occur. Therefore, obviously prima-facie there is negligence on the part of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh/, and or the Administration concerned,” the Bench observed.