Court To Ask Kulu, Manali Motels To Restore Ecology

The Supreme Court has decided to ask motels and other commercial establishments along the Beas river in Kulu Manali to share the cost of restoring the ecology of the area. The motel owned by former environment minister Kamal Nath has allegedly diverted the course of the Beas.

Earlier the court had fixed responsibility on the motel for diverting the river. Kamal Nath had appealed against the decision. Now, the court wants to extend the scope of the case and involve others in the region.

To begin with, the bench consisting of Justice S C Agrawal, Justice S Saghir Ahmad and Justice M Srinivasan has directed the Himachal Pradesh government to submit to the court by October 6 a composite plan to restore the environment along the banks of Beas. It has also directed the government to submit to the court a list of commercial establishments in the region who would benefit from the restoration of ecology so that they could also be asked to contribute their share of the cost incurred in the restoration scheme. The National Environment Engineering Institute was earlier asked to assess the damage and cost of restoration and it has put the figure at Rs 10 crore.