K’taka High Court expresses displeasure over MCC not compensating Pachanady victims

Bengaluru: The High Court has expressed displeasure with the municipal commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation for not providing compensation to the victims of the Pachanady garbage landfall disaster.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice AS Oka held hearings of the Public Interest Petition filed by the District Legal Services Authority regarding the hazard caused by the landfilling unit in Pachanady.

The bench, which reviewed the report sent by the Corporation, expressed displeasure over the commissioner. The court had ordered that compensation must be provided to the victims of the incident before January 21. However, the commissioner has yet not distributed any compensation nor shared any clear information about the list of the victims who will receive the compensation.

The court added that it will not tolerate such conduct.

The bench also asked the lawyer representing the Corporation to inform the municipal commissioner to dispatch the compensation in a day or two or be ready to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

The court stated that there are 102 victims of the disaster who must be provided compensation and directed the Corporation to provide the compensation to them and submit a report to the District Legal Services Authority about the same. The Authority will then review the report and submit a report to the bench.