Above: (L to R) Taxis parked outside a hotel in Nainital/Photo Courtesy: www.bcmtouring.com

There is much angst over a court directive that only after tourists using private vehicles give proof of parking arrangements will they be allowed to enter Nainital

~By Govind Pant Raju in Lucknow

The Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital has given a crucial directive to the district administration while hearing a PIL regarding declaring Nainital as an eco-sensitive zone. The Court has said that only after providing proof of parking arrangements will tourists using private vehicles be allowed to enter the city. The Court has also said that its directive must be issued in four national newspapers, keeping the public well-informed.

Given the problem of parking in Nainital, the High Court was forced to issue this directive. Increasing pressure from tourists and vehicles in the scenic city has now become a major nuisance. Nainital’s only sports ground has been serving as a parking lot for years, but even that is not enough now. The High Court has expressed displeasure over the misuse of the playground for parking.

GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Enforcement of such a strict measure implies that the Court is concerned about the hill city. However, it does not acknowledge that it is responsible in a way for the growing disorder. The pressure of the population on Nainital, settled around its scenic lake, had surpassed its threshold limit long ago. Due to environmental and geological hazards, there are several restrictions on fresh construction in Nainital.

Located in a geologically sensitive zone, the city witnessed horrific landslides in September 1880 in which 151 people were killed and many buildings were buried deep in the mud. After the disaster, the British banned construction of buildings in Nainital’s geologically weaker hilly areas. A 90-mile stretch of drains was laid to control the flow of rainwater from the entire city to the lake. But after the 1990s, illegal construction restarted despite the establishment of the High Court and all the restrictions.

After the setting up of the High Court in the secretariat building, the buildings of Brook Hill Hostel and Canton Lodge in Kumaon University, and the buildings of the silviculture department have now become the property of the High Court. Apart from this, dozens of government offices in Nainital have also been transferred elsewhere due to the Court’s orders. In the past, the garden of the government’s garden department was a major tourist attraction in Nainital. Now, a large part of it has been occupied by lawyers for their chambers. The over-bridge structure there evidences severe neglect of the environment.

Though the High Court has taken a strict stand on illegal construction in Nainital, strangely, it has itself constructed in the Canton Lodge area 84 types of buildings, six buildings for domestic workers and four for judges through the National Building Construction Corporation Limited. This construction is being done in the main catchment area of Naini Lake, considered a potential risk for landslides. The Nainital Lake Region Special Area Development Authority has also expressed its objection to this construction, which consists of about 400 rooms. But as the matter is related to the High Court, construction work could not be halted.

HIGH COURT ROLE

Much of the illegal construction in the town has been done under the nose of the High Court. Some of the lawyers have also been accused of involvement in illegal construction. A few years ago, a judge had allegedly flouted environmental regulations by constructing a motorable road for his house in the highly sensitive area of Sher Ka Danda. Due to this road, traffic increased in the upper part of Nainital, resulting in a huge landslide there in July 2015, with thousands of tonnes of rubble filling the lake.

Also, though the High Court has directed tourists to arrange for their own parking, it has itself reserved a public parking lot in Nainital for its lawyers. On its directives, the district administration has also reserved a large parking space in Metropole Hotel for lawyers. If this wasn’t enough, the local administration has also reserved parking in the city for lawyers of the district court.

While there is a fine of Rs 10,000 for the public if they transgress parking rules, parking for lawyers is free. There is considerable resentment and angst in the local public over this issue, and even civil society organisations of Nainital have started to oppose it now.

The issue is not limited to just these facts. Whenever High Court judges visit the town, the entire bustling area around a fountain in Mallital (the lower part of the town) turns into a parking zone for their vehicles and people are not allowed to even move around it. The movement of vehicles on Mall Road used to be restricted from 6 pm to 8 pm during the crowded period of the tourist season. These days, owing to the High Court, it is applicable throughout the year.

At the same time, one can easily spot a High Court judge taking an evening stroll on Mall Road. Following this, judges of the lower court also started taking strolls. On such occasions, security personnel and gunmen of judges having a tussle with the public is a common sight. The elderly population of Nainital compares this situation to the days of the Raj when Indians were forbidden to walk on Mall Road. In a situation where the city’s remaining public parking has been reserved for
advocates, stringent directives by the High Court for tourists and the local people seems unjustified.

Senior High Court advocate IB Singh told India Legal: “According to the Constitution, being in a special profession does not entitle a person to special civil rights and privileges. The public parking lot is not the court’s property, so this kind of reservation is unjustified.”

Unfortunately, with the High Court’s intervention and restrictions being imposed on tourists, many people feel it is a moot point if the town needs a High Court at all or whether it should be transferred elsewhere. With over 600 lawyers, additional staff and the constant flow of clients every day, the situation is worsening.

It is also being argued that as Uttarakhand’s capital is Dehradun and the High Court is in Nainital, a huge amount of money and time is being wasted in government lawsuits. However, the fact remains that the beautiful landscape of Nainital is a privilege which the Court will be reluctant to give up.