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The PIL states that the area concerned was severely affected by the 2021 Uttarakhand floods and its aftermath.
The Uttarakhand Government on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that the Supreme Court is already seized of the matter. In addition to this, it was also submitted that the National Disaster Response Force has been deployed in the concerned area.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction to the Centre to form a high-powered joint committee to investigate the sinking of the Joshimath in Uttarakhand.
Deputy Advocate General JK Sethi appearing for the Uttarakhand Government informed the bench that several people have been relocated and the Central and the State Governments are acting in co-ordination on the issue.
To this, Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said that they have seen that the National Disaster Response Force has been deployed.
Given the submission, counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the matter may be listed on January 17 as the matter is about to be taken up by the Supreme Court on January 16. Allowing the same, the bench listed the matter for further hearing on January 17.
The present PIL plea seeks direction to the representatives of all pertinent ministries, which are involved in people's rehabilitation, to look into the Joshimath sinking issue right away.
The plea states that it is imperative that the government of India recognizes the hardship of the residents of the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and takes action to give them access to the necessities for a decent living.
"In one of the strangest phenomena to strike the holy town nestled in the serene hills of Chamoli at a height of 6,000 ft, houses started developing cracks and damages since 2021, leaving residents anxious and worried. Since the first reports of the cracks in 2021 after landslides in Chamoli, over 570 houses have sustained damages or cracks as residents experienced seismic tremors repeatedly in the subsequent years, the plea adds.
Furthermore, the plea mentions that Joshimath is home to one of the four cardinals 'Pithas' established by Adi Shankara.
Case Title: Rohit Dandriyal v. Union of India and Ors
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