Karnataka State Legal Services Authority vs Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and Others

K.L. Manjunath, J.—The Karnataka Legal Services Authority, Bangalore has presented this public interest litigation requesting this Court to issue writ of mandamus directing the respondents to scrupulously implement the directions issued by the Hon''ble Supreme Court in the case in regard to measures for Prevention of Fatal Accidents of Small Children due to their falling into abandoned bore wells and tube wells v Union of India and others and to monitor the upkeep, maintenance and or closure of existing borewells, tube wells, dry wells abandoned wells and other wells and constituting a committee to be formed comprising of representatives of respondent authorities and representatives of all district and taluk authorities in the state, under the agencies of the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, to monitor the implementation of the said guidelines prescribed by the Hon''ble Supreme Court in W.P..36/2009 and to direct the respondent authorities to ensure that the digging/drilling agencies in the state are made responsible for the safe construction and maintenance of borewells, tubewells, dry wells, abandoned wells and other wells in the state of Karnataka, and to take action against erring agencies. and direct the respondent authorities to pay compensation to the victims families in all cases of accidents involving borewells, tube wells, dry wells abandoned wells and other wells and to take action against erring government officials for dereliction of duty.

A detailed objections has been filed to justify the action initiated to close down the abandoned borewells in the State of Karnataka. According to them as on 31.8.14, there were 1,93,245 borewells in all the districts have been closed and there are no disused borewells in existence.

Today, Principal Secretary of Karnataka Ground Water Authority is present before the Court. He has stated that the Government is monitoring through different agencies to fix the responsibilities on owners of the lands and the drillers if there is failure of borewells, shall close the same forthwith, otherwise actions would be taken against erring persons. He also submits that respondents has also fixed responsibility on the Junior Engineers, Panchayat Development Authority to see that any of the villagers were negligent in closing dry borewells. In view of the statement made by him, this Court is of the opinion that this matter can be closed with a direction to the State Government and particularly the fifth respondent to submit report once in three months to the Legal Services Authority about the action taken by the State of Karnataka and 5th respondent on their part to close the disused borewells.

With above direction, the writ petition is disposed of. If the respondents is not submitting the report once in three months, the petitioner is at liberty to initiate contempt proceedings.