SC demands Bengal’s Environment Secy show up in court

The Supreme Court today summoned the Environment Secretary of West Bengal after the state failed to produce the status of its critically and severely polluted areas before the court. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation about the disposal of untreated waste in the rivers in the country.

The apex court on January 16 had asked all the states to file an affidavit on the status of their polluted areas. The bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishnan Kaulhad also said that the Environment Secretaries of states failing to submit the status will be summoned to the court.

All states apart from West Bengal complied to the court’s order. Today the counsel for West Bengal sought two more weeks to file the affidavit. The bench, however, wasn’t amused.

“You are a wonderful lawyer. You will not file affidavit in five weeks. You want two more weeks’ time. And you will also not bring the man (Environment Secretary) as ordered last time,” the bench observed.

The West Bengal’s Environment Secretary will have to appear in the court on February 22.