New Delhi: The Gujarat high court on Thursday (June 27) expressed strong displeasure and criticism towards the state government’s report on the Vadodara Harni Lake tragedy, which claimed the lives of 14 people, including 12 children. The court questioned the integrity of the inquiry committee’s report, suggesting that it was an attempt to shield the then-municipal commissioner of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) and shift the blame onto the technical team and contractor, The New Indian Express reported.
“From the wording of the report, it seems that an attempt is being made to place the entire blame on the technical team and the contractor,” the high court bench comprising of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, who were hearing a public interest litigation case related to the January 19 incident where a boat capsized on Harni lake, was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.
The court had previously directed an inquiry into the role of the municipal commissioner after observing that the commissioner had “illegally” granted a contract to M/s Kotia Projects to run and develop the lake. However, the report submitted by the committee headed by the principal secretary of the urban development department found no fault with the commissioner’s actions.
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Notably, Chief Justice Agarwal remarked that it appeared to be an effort to “protect the municipal commissioner”. The court also questioned how the commissioner could have relied solely on the report of technical evaluators without exercising any independent judgment or review.
“It is a kind of report which is where there is an effort to protect the municipal commissioner… the committee finds fault and then sidelines the role of the municipal commissioner. The committee says that the municipal commissioner generally believes in the report of the technical officer and that (the commissioner) should have been.. more careful in granting such (contracts),” Chief Justice Agarwal was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
She added: “Here, the principal secretary of the urban development department is the chairman of the committee. So what to do with this kind of report? They’ve simply said that the municipal commissioner has done nothing wrong. He has simply relied on the report of technical evaluators…where is the question of ‘review, rescind’? This is a decision. Before making a decision, will the municipal commissioner keep his eyes and ears closed? He will not look at the file where he is giving the final signature?”
Further, the bench mentioned that the report says “once a technical report was submitted to municipal commissioner, he was helpless, he did not do any wrong in signing the file before him and if he signed it, then it was in good faith” and underlined that “he could’ve been more careful”. “There is one thing travelling in the mind of the court, if this is the approach then we are in difficulty,” Chief Justice Agarwal said.
The court questioned the Advocate General, Kamal Trivedi, whether they should accept the report, noting that doing so could increase the difficulty for the principal secretary. The advocate general requested time to review the report, and the court granted it, scheduling a detailed hearing for July 4.
