IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) No. 108 OF 2013
IN THE MATTER OF:
Naresh Kadyan Petitioner
Versus
Union of India and Ors Respondents
REPLY AFFIDAVIT ON BEHALF OF THE
PETITIONER TO THE AFFIDAVIT DATED
03.09.2014 FILED BY THE STATE OF
RAJASTHAN IN COMPLIANCE OF ORDER
DATED 09.05.2014 PASSED BY THIS HONBLE
COURT.
I, Naresh Kadyan s/o Shri Om Prakash
Kadyan, aged 52 years, R/o. C-38, Rose Apartment,
Sector 14, Paschim Vihar, Rohini, Delhi 110 085, do
hereby solemnly afrm and state on oath that:
1. That I am the Petitioner in Writ Petition (Civil) No.
108 of 2013 and I am fully conversant with the facts
and circumstances of the case and am competent to
depose this afdavit. I have read and understood the
contents of the Afdavit dated 03.09.2014 fled by the
State of Rajasthan and hereby make a short afdavit in
response to the said Afdavit. I reserve my right to fle
detailed afdavit if and when deemed necessary by this
Honble Court.
2. That at the outset it is respectfully submitted that
the afdavit in reply has been fled by the Chief
Secretary of Government of Rajasthan pursuant to this
Honble Court order dated 05.09.2014 and for the
reason that an earlier afdavit dated 24.02.2014 was
fled by a Sub-Divisional Ofcer on behalf of State of
Rajasthan wherein the State had taken the view,
digging of trench near Lake is not feasible and will curb
free movement of cattle grazing around in surroundings
of villages Nagaur and Ajmer Districts. The SSL is not
ready to bear the expenditures to erect police posts.
3. That in the light of the aforesaid submission by the
State as against the recommendation of Shri Vinod
Kapur Committee for digging trenches all around
Sambhar Lake to protect degradation of the lake and to
conserve its environment and ecology, the Honble Court
vide its order dated 05.09.2014 directed the Chief
Secretary to fle an afdavit to the efect that whether
the State has accepted the report of Shri Vinod Kapur
and if it has not accepted the report, then to indicate
the reasons for its non implementation.
4. That from a bare reading of the two afdavits it is
evident that the report/recommendations of Shri Vinod
Kapur has been accepted and is being implemented by
the Government of Rajasthan, albeit its done on a
selective basis.
5. That one of the most important recommendation
Shri Vinod Kapur for saving the degradation of the Lake
and to preserve the natural habitats for the migratory
birds, including the famingoes, was recommendation
no.3 regarding digging of trenches all around the lake
for the reasons stated therein. It is noteworthy that the
said recommendation of Shri Vinod Kapur was based on
the suggestion made by the District Administration itself
(page 116-117, para 2 of the SLP paper book). Therefore,
frstly the State cannot pick and choose from the
recommendations of Shri Vinod Kapur Committee and
therefore, the entire report has to be implemented.
Secondly, the recommendation about digging of trenches
all around the Lake is based on the suggestion put
forward by the State to the Committee and therefore, for
vested interest the State today cannot go against its own
proposal.
6. That the reasons for not implementing the
recommendation of digging trenches all around the lake
given in the two afdavits viz. dated 24.02.2014 and
03.09.2014 is somewhat similar and has been advanced
in order to protect the interest of salt manufacturers
around the lake area who unauthorizedly draw saline
water from the Lake by laying hundreds of pipes illegally
into the lake. One of the reasons for not implementing
the said recommendation is that since with current
technology such laying of pipelines can be done at any
such depth, which can be even below the depth of the
trench, without suggesting a more upto date
technologically advanced method to even take care of
the fact that if an illegal pipeline is placed at any depth,
same can be detected and destroyed. This is a highly
insensitive approach suggesting that the State is
helpless and is not ready to make eforts to save the
Lake and the surrounding environment and the ecology.
The second reason for not implementing is that the
trenches will have adverse impact on natural free fow of
rainwater in the lake. The same excuse has been
advanced by the State in complete disregard to the fact
that based on the suggestions of the State itself, Shri
Vinod Kapur had categorically noted that digging of
trenches will not have any adverse efect on the
incoming of rainwater into the Lake and further the
incoming water will remain intact in the Lake. Another
untenable reason to avoid the digging of trenches is that
it will pose hazards to children and animals falling into
it during the rainy seasons. This is not a reason but a
desperate attempt to not implement the said
recommendations and the reasons are obvious. There is
a big illegal activity of manufacturing and trade of salt
around the Lake involving bigwigs, and therefore all
inconceivable excuses are being advanced to stall the
digging of the trenches. It is noteworthy that as of date
upto an area of approximately 25 kms., trenches have
been dug by SSL at its own costs. The State Government
should have no objection if the work of digging the
trenches all around the lake is taken up by SSL, which
should bear the cost as SSL has itself proposed before
the Honble Court. Further, by suggesting today that the
whole area should be developed as a tourist place or an
ecological wetland zone is only to divert the attention
from the pointed question raised by the Honble Court.
The study ordered to be conducted by CSIR-NEERI
Nagpur can be a supplement to the recommendation of
Shri Vinod Kapur, and it can not be an excuse for not
implementing the recommendation of digging trenches
all around the Lake for the reasons as given in the
report.

7. That both the afdavits fled before this Honble
Court do not talk about implementing the most
important and most efective recommendation of Sh.
Vinod Kapur inorder to protect those who are involved in
illegally drawing saline water from the lake. Inspite of
the fact that State is fully aware of existence of
unauthorized tube wells and borewells.
8. In the premises, it is respectfully submitted that
the recommendation of Shri Vinod Kapur regarding
digging of trenches all around the Lake should be
implemented by the State, and SSL may be directed to
bear and/or share the cost incurred therein.
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION :
I, the above-named Deponent do hereby solemnly
afrm and state that the contents of the aforesaid paras
are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and
belief and I believe the same to be true.
Verifed at on this day of September, 2014.

DEPONENT