Contractors dumping muck outside approved sites to face music: Himachal minister

PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh today said strict action will be taken against the contractors dumping muck outside the approved dumping sites.

“It has been seen at some places that contractors dump muck outside the approved dumping site to save time and money. This muck enters rivers and nullahs. Our department will take strict action against the offenders,” the minister said.

Vikramaditya identified choked culverts along the roads as another major factor enhancing damage in the event of heavy rains and cloudbursts. “If there are five or 10 culverts on a 10-km stretch, only one culvert is functional. As the channel is blocked, water finds another way, causing massive damage,” the minister said. “We will try to open up the clogged culverts,” he added.

He revealed that several roads in rural areas had been constructed without the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), causing immense damage to the environment. “Erring officials will be held accountable and chargesheeted by the department if such instances come to light,” the minister added.

“There’s a lot of pressure on MLAs to get maximum roads constructed in their respective areas. There have been violations on this front in all governments. Given how frequent and destructive natural disasters have become in the state, it’s high time we all gave priority to preserving the environment. Development at the cost of destruction of environment makes no sense,” he said.

The minister stated that unnecessary development like roads and ropeways should be avoided at religious places like Manimahesh, Churdhar and Bijli Mahadev. “People are against this development. The government should respect the public sentiment,” he said.

He added that the number of people visiting these places at a given time should be fixed.