Delhi High Court: PIL seeks Constitution of High Powered Joint Committee for immediate inspection Of Joshimath, rehabilitation of affected residents

The Delhi High Court in the case Rohit Dandriyal v. Union of India and Ors, a PIL has been filed wherein seeking constitution of a high-powered joint committee under the chairmanship of a retired judge of High Court and the representatives of all the relevant ministries wherein seeking inspection of Uttarakhand’s Joshimath area which are being affected due to climate and infrastructural changes. Thus, the plea filed also seeks for rehabilitation of the residents. The PIL was moved by a Delhi based lawyer Rohit Dandriyal, who is also being a permanent resident of Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, it is stated in the plea that nearly 500 families are living in Joshimath are and who are either risking their lives by still living in their houses or are looking for accommodation at other places in the cold weather conditions. The petition filed stated that more than 3,000 people are affected, as stated by the municipality chief and that’s is being over 10 per cent of the population. In the case, the petitioner stated that he wrote a representation to the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Home Affairs and Power, New & Renewable Energy on January 6, wherein requesting him for constituting the said committee, with regards to the view of the said construction of Vishnuprayag hydroelectric plant project and national highway. However, the plea states that the said construction in the past years in Joshimath violated the fundament rights of the residents. Adding to it, the petition stated that it being one of the strangest phenomenon for striking the holy town nestled in the serene hills of Chamoli at a height of 6,000 ft, since 2021, the houses started developing cracks and damages, wherein leaving the residents anxious and worried. Further, since the first reports of the cracks in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli, however, over 570 houses have sustained cracks or damages as residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years.