Two weeks before quitting, Justice Rohit B Deo pulled up state over Vidarbha irrigation projects

The PIL claimed the delay in the completion of projects caused severe water scarcity in Vidarbha, leading to difficulties for lakhs of farmers. Justice Deo noted that the PIL did “touch the issue of immense public importance”.

The bench had observed that the executing agency can do little without the “active assistance and support” of the state government pertaining to the availability of financial resources.

Therefore, it directed Chief Secretary Manoj Sounik to file a comprehensive affidavit addressing the issues and concerns raised in the PIL within a month.

A division bench of Justice Rohit B Deo and Justice Mahendra W Chandwani on July 18 was hearing a PIL filed by Loknayak Bapuji Aane Smarak Samiti in June 2018 through its member Amrut Govindrao Diwan and argued by advocate Avinash V Kale.

On November 21, 2018, the HC asked VIDC to give details related to the completion of 45 projects undertaken by VIDC and those which had become operational and had also sought estimated time of completion for the ongoing projects.

On March 11, 2020, the court perused VIDC’s detailed reply related to Type-1, Type-2 and Type-3 projects about which grievance was raised in PIL and noted that the corporation’s response disclosed that most of these projects were either completed or work was in progress and the time limit within which whole projects would be completed was given.

However, the petitioner NGO said the VIDC’s reply was non-satisfactory. On July 18, Justice Deo-led bench had noted that while departments of state government including General Administration, Urban Development, Revenue and Forest, Irrigation were made respondents in the PIL, only Water Resources department had filed an affidavit in reply on January 22, 2019, but, noted that the same did not refer to averments in the PIL ‘While we are consciously refraining from making certain observations, we must record that there is no attempt made by the state till date to seriously respond to the averments in the petition which touch issues of immense public importance,” the bench noted.

Justice Deo had added, “There is no gain saying that as the implementing agency, while the VIDC is tasked with the execution of the projects, without the active assistance and support of the state, illustratively availability of the financial resources, there is precious little which any executing agency can do.”

After the petitioner sought to amend the PIL seeking monitoring of the progress of type-2 and type-3 irrigation projects by the high-power committee, the bench said “it found no difficulty” to permit the application and said the plea can be amended by a week.

The bench posted further hearings to August 18. Citing “personal reasons”, Justice Deo resigned from office on Friday, announcing it in his courtroom at the Nagpur bench of the HC.