Chandigarh, A meeting was convened by the Deputy Commissioner, UT, Chandigarh to review whether there are any open bore-wells/tube-wells in Chandigarh, to take preventive measures and also put in place a mechanism to ensure regular checking.
Permissions in Chandigarh are granted primarily by Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, Engineering Department, UT, Chandigarh and LAO Office.
The Deputy Commissioner asked all three to submit information about the bore-wells allowed by them in a prescribed format. They were asked to ensure corrective action in case there was any negligence.
Further, Chief Engineer, Municipal Corporation and Chief Engineer, UT were also asked to survey entire Chandigarh to check if there were any open bore-wells/tube-wells. The Chief Engineer, Municipal Corporation in the MC area and Chief Engineer, UT, in non MC area would be responsible for ensuring safety measures at their locations and take strict action against any person not adhering to the safety norms.
In addition all the three SDMs were asked to hold meetings in their respective area with stakeholders like officials of Municipal Corporation, Engineering Department, Lamberdars, Ex-Sarpanches, Resident Associations, Police Officials etc. and perform the dual task of educating everyone as well as reporting to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office as well as the concerned agency (Chief Engineer, UT & Chief Engineer, MC) in case there was any bore-wells/tube-wells where safety measures were not adopted.
The SDMs as well as Chief Engineers (MC/UT Chandigarh) have also been asked to send status report every three months to ensure that proper safety measures are maintained continuously. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh would hold a review meeting once every three months for this purpose.