'Aur Kitna Sukhaoge Sukhna Lake Ko?' CJI Flags Builder–Bureaucrat Nexus Behind Lake’s Decline

“Aur kitna sukhaoge Sukhna lake ko (How much more will you allow Sukhna lake to dry up),” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked on Wednesday, expressing concern over the depletion of Chandigarh’s iconic Sukhna lake, which he attributed to collusion between builder mafias and bureaucrats.

A bench comprising the CJI and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing interim applications in a pending 1995 public interest litigation titled In Re: TN Godavarman Thirumulpad.

“Aur kitna sukhaoge Sukhna lake ko? There are illegal constructions in collusion and connivance with bureaucrats, backed by political entities in Punjab resulting in complete destruction of the lake. All builder mafias are operating there,” CJI Kant observed orally when a lawyer mentioned a plea related to the lake.

The top court also questioned why matters concerning forests and lakes were increasingly being brought directly before the apex court, bypassing the high courts, and that too through interim applications in a PIL filed in 1995.

At the outset of the hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice Kant and Justice Bagchi wondered why all forest-related matters were being placed before the Supreme Court.

Referring to the application linked to the Sukhna lake issue, the CJI said it appeared that a “friendly match” was being played at the behest of certain private developers and others.

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, and senior advocate K Parmeswar, assisting the court as amicus curiae in forest matters, to apprise it of local issues that could be effectively dealt with by the respective high courts.

Litigation relating to Chandigarh’s Sukhna lake has primarily involved efforts by the high court to protect the lake’s catchment area from encroachment, including orders in 2020 directing the demolition of structures in the protected zone.