Srinagar, Oct 7: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Friday directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) to appear in person on November 11 to explain the development works to be carried out at Sonamarg health resort and how he was planning to preserve the meadows and the glaciers.
Hearing on its motion a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi passed these directions after perusing an affidavit of the CEO, bringing on record the Master Plan for the year 2005 to 2015.
The CEO submitted that the Master Plan for 2025 to 2040 was in process of being framed by the Chief Town Planner.
“We direct the CEO, Sonamarg to appear in person on the next date to explain the development work he intends to carry out at Sonamarg and how he was planning to preserve the meadows and the glaciers,” the court said.
In its earlier order, the court had asked the SDA to prepare a “vision plan” for the golden meadow in the Ganderbal district.
The authority was asked to file it along with the “whitepaper” on the development works so far executed by it.
The court had also directed the CEO to explore the possibility of using wooden fences, hedges, and plantation of trees “which are all environment friendly” to demarcate the various sub meadows and the boundaries of various properties instead of using steel and iron barricades and fencing.
In one of its orders passed earlier, the court had warned “if authorities like SDA are not in a position to take any development work, the court will recommend the government to wind up such authorities as there is no use to keep white elephants only to siphon off public money which is provided to them either by the J&K government or by the Union of India”.