Agartala, Aug 04, 2022, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala Aug 4: The High Court of Tripura Division comprising of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and SG Chattopadhyay on Wednesday directed the state government agencies involved in the protection and preservation of Rudrasagar to settle the impasse over the construction of a sluice gate and submit its final report on August 29 next.

Petitioner advocate Indrajit Chakraborty said, “The Court has directed the departments like Water Resource and Forest to make their final plan approved and submit it before the Court on the next date of the hearing scheduled on August 29 next.”

Describing the background of the PIL, advocate Chakraborty said, “The location which has been selected for construction of the sluice gate will act against the health of the Rudrasagar lake. The water body was once spread over 2,000 acres of land but now the wetland is confined to only 300 acres. If the sluice gate is set up in the location which is decided by the government, water levels of the water body will be endangered which prompted me to file the petition contesting the decision”. He said, his proposal was to shift the sluice gate in a location so that the water levels of the water body could be restored to a large extent. “We have seen the Ramasar convention site has been destroyed for the cost of growing paddy in low-lying areas that once used to be under water. The forest department which is the nodal agency for the protection of the water body was also admonished by the Court for its negligence towards the site. The water resource department has informed the court that it will submit its final construction plan on August 29”, said Chakraborty.