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 the interests of thousands of people living near Chandigarh's Sukhna Lake after the high court ordered demolition of structures in the catchment area of the water body. On Monday, the court reportedly declared the lake a living entity, ordering the demolition of all structures in its catchment area. It also fined both Punjab and Haryana Rs 100 crore each for causing damage to the catchment area.

After constituting a committee to evolve a strategy, Singh said in a statement his government will take all legislative and judicial remedies to protect the interests of thousands of people living near the lake. Singh asked Advocate General Atul Nanda to coordinate with his Haryana counterpart to ensure a formidable defence in response to the order. He also asked the chief secretary to designate nodal officers from the forest and local government departments to assist the AG in preparing a 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 to decide the future course of action through the formulation of a multi-pronged strategy involving all stakeholders, including Haryana.

Earlier, Nanda apprised Singh of options available to the state to counter the high court ruling..