Environment – Ponds – Encroachments – Our ancestors were not fools – They knew that in certain years there may be droughts or water shortages for some other reason, and water was also required for cattle to drink and bathe in etc. – Hence they built a pond attached to every village, a tank attached to every temple, etc. These were their traditional rain water harvesting methods, which served them for thousands of years – Over the last few decades, however, most of these ponds in our country have been filled with earth and built upon by greedy people, thus destroying their original character – This has contributed to the water shortages in the country – Also, many ponds are auctioned off at throw away prices to businessmen for fisheries in collusion with authorities/Gram Panchayat officials, and even this money collected from these so called auctions are not used for the common benefit of the villagers but misappropriated by certain individuals – The time has come when these malpractices must stop.
read HERE 2011 PLRonline 0101
read HERE Jagpal Singh & Others v. State of Punjab, 2011 PLRonline 0101 , (2011) 11 SCC 396 , AIR 2011 SC 1123
