20 lawyers to check if Nagpur's 464 public wells were actually cleaned
Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench orders 20 lawyers to inspect 464 public wells and report within four weeks on cleaning claims.
A team of 20 lawyers will now personally inspect 464 public wells across the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's 10 zones to verify claims that they have been cleaned. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the lawyers to inspect the wells, assess the actual condition on the ground, and submit a report within four weeks.
Sandesh Singalkar had filed a public interest litigation over the poor condition of Nagpur city's public wells and demanded their restoration. The matter was heard on Tuesday before the bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas.
The court had earlier questioned the municipal corporation's functioning after no significant improvement was seen despite Rs 1.24 crore being spent on the maintenance and repair of the wells. The petitioners told the court that a claim of cleaning the wells had also been made last year, but there was no real improvement on the ground.
Following this, the court had asked for a zone-wise list of the wells that had been cleaned. The water supply department submitted a list of 464 wells to the court. Advocate Smita Singalkar, appearing for the petitioner, presented a list of 20 lawyers willing to take up the task. This team will now inspect the wells on site and submit its report to the court within four weeks.
Advocate Sudhir Puranik appeared for the municipal corporation.
