Will protect interests of people hit by HC order on Sukhna Lake: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said his government will take all measures to protect interests of those affected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court order to demolish structures in the catchment area of Chandigarh's Sukhna Lake.

On Monday, the High Court had reportedly declared the lake a living entity, ordering the demolition of all structures in its catchment area.

The court had also fined both Punjab and Haryana Rs 100 crore each for causing damage to the lake's catchment area.

Ordering the constitution of a committee to evolve a comprehensive strategy, the Punjab chief minister in a statement on Thursday said his government will take all legislative and judicial remedies to protect interests of people as it was not viable to displace tens of thousands of people living around the lake.

Chairing a meeting to discuss this issue, Singh asked Advocate General Atul Nanda to coordinate with his Haryana counterpart to ensure a formidable defence in response to the order.

Singh also directed the chief secretary to designate nodal officers from the forest and local government departments to assist the AG office in preparing the state's response in the court.

The committee set up by the chief minister will be headed by Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, with Principal Secretary Tejveer Singh, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, MLAs Parminder Singh Pinki, Fatehjung Singh Bajwa, Kanwar Sandhu and Amandeep Singh as members.

The committee has been mandated to evolve a consensus in consultation with the AG office to decide the future course of action through the formulation of a multi-pronged strategy involving all stakeholders, including the state of Haryana.

Earlier, Nanda apprised Singh of various options available to the state to counter the High Court's opinion in the matter.