Gujarat HC pulls up Vadodara Municipal Corporation over Harni boat tragedy, calls for management policy of water bodies

The spot where the incident took place. File Pic/PTI

The Gujarat High Court on Monday pulled up the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) over the Harni boat tragedy, in which 12 children and two teachers lost their lives, and called for a policy for the management of water bodies and to fix accountability to officials in case of such incidents.

A boat carrying students and teachers out on a picnic capsized in Harni Lake in Vadodara on January 18, killing 12 students and two teachers, while 18 students and two teachers were rescued.

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Hearing a suo motu PIL on the incident, the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee observed that unless and until such tragedy occurs, people live in "denial mode", thinking this will never happen.

"You (VMC) may have taken a hundred corrective measures (after the incident), but that is not enough. We want to know how you were operating prior to the incident. And whether anybody is accountable in the corporation or not. Or only the contractor is to be slashed?" the court asked when the civic body's lawyer told the court about measures taken after the incident.

The court was informed that the civic body had issued instructions to the private contractor managing the lake on two accounts before the tragedy.

To this, the court sought to know why the contractor was allowed to operate even after failing to follow instructions.

"This is only an eyewash on the corporation's part. We will be calling the affidavit of the corporation also. The municipal commissioner is answerable for that as this is within the jurisdiction of the VMC," the court made an oral observation.

Justice Agarwal said that using waterbodies for amusement purposes by the civic bodies is not wrong, but "there has to be some instructions, accountability and supervision" if they are given to private persons for the purpose.

The VMC has registered an FIR in the case, accusing 19 persons, including people associated with private firm Kotia Projects, its sub-contractor and the boat operators, of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and attempt to commit culpable homicide under provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Chief Justice Agarwal also raised concern over the status of other water bodies in the state that are being used for amusement purposes and noted that she recently took a boat ride twice in Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary, a wetland near Sanand in Ahmedabad, without being provided with a life jacket.

"I have gone there twice this season. After this (Vadodara) incident I realised we went without life jackets. They took the Chief Justice also without a life jacket. I could have drowned in the lake," she observed.

"What I am saying is that unless and until this kind of incident occurs, everybody feels that this will never happen. This is how we always live in denial mode," she observed.

The court called for a government policy applicable to all water bodies in the state that are being used for amusement purposes.

"If you are framing a policy, accountability is the first step. A contractor is a contractor, but accountability is of the officer of the corporation," it said.

Advocate General Kamal Trivedi said the government has instructed local authorities about what they need to do after the Vadodara tragedy, and they have been asked to provide information regarding water bodies.

In the meantime, all amusement activities at water bodies have been stopped, he said.

The court wanted to know whether it was also applicable to lakes in the forest areas like Nal Sarovar Lake, where people are ferried in boats without a life jacket.

"Though the depth is not much, that does not matter. Even a swimmer can die in shallow water. There is a lot of weed inside a lake," the Chief Justice said.

The court directed the government to prepare a chart of water bodies in the state and who is managing them.

"So far, as individual areas are concerned, like the areas within the jurisdiction of the corporation and forest department ¿ all these areas are to be individually tapped. They are supposed to answer to the court. Then only we will be able to call upon the report of everyone," the court observed.

It proposed to expand the scope of the suo motu PIL to cover water bodies in the entire state so that the government could come out with a comprehensive plan for their management so that people can have fun with safety measures in place.

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