NAGPUR: Rejecting the plea by
Kusba villagers, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has directed respondents to remove the villagers from the encroached area coming under Gosikhurd dam.
While upholding the report of a committee comprising collector and tehsildar, which termed the villagers as encroachers, a division bench consisting of justices
Ravi Deshpande and
Amit Borkar asked respondents to expedite the process.
Kusba
sarpanch Ishwar Lambat and others had moved HC through counsel
Prakash Randive, contending that the entire village was severely hit by heavy rainfall which occurred in July. People had to be evacuated using boats as there was water logging everywhere. The village has 252 families and over 1,600 people residing, he said.
During the monsoon, even though there was little rainfall, all the villages were flooded. However, according to the government, the village is 452 meters above sea level. Due to geographical location of the village, which is near Gosikhurd dam, flooding is expected and it is difficult to access the place at that time. The government had said that the village does not need
rehabilitation since it is encroached.
The petitioners presented pictures of the affected villages to the bench. They also requested that the village be rehabilitated in view of the problems faced by citizens during the monsoon. Taking into consideration all the issues presented by the petitioner, the HC had directed the government to file an affidavit in last hearing.