The High Court of Uttarakhand has directed the State Chief Secretary to file first information report against officials guilty of orchestrating a scam amounting to crores of rupees through incorrect bills regarding the repair of power and water lines damaged in the Kedarnath disaster. The FIR should be lodged within one month.
According to the case details, advocate Sushil Vashisht had filed a public interest litigation in which he had stated that Rs 30 crore contract for repair of power and water lines damaged in the 2013 Kedarnath disaster had been given to Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA). The petitioner stated that the damaged lines were repaired though in documents the old lines were shown to have been washed away. An inquiry by the Rudraprayag district magistrate ascertained anomalies in the repair of the power and water lines. The company officials in connivance with Government officials allegedly showed the old lines as having been swept away and got bills for new lines passed. The advocate had filed the PIl as no action had been taken on this report of the district magistrate. After hearing the matter, the division bench of justice Rajiv Sharma and justice lokpal Singh directed the chief secretary to file an FIR within one month against all UREDA and other government officials involved in this matter.
Observers opine that this order of the high court exposes governmental claims regarding transparency and quality of work maintained in repair and reconstruction works in Kedarnath.