Lucknow, Aug 13 The Allahabad High Court on Thursday summoned the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and three senior officials to appear before it after the state government failed to give clear answers on whether its electricity corporations were legally empowered to levy charges on Hindalco Industries Limited for drawing water from the Rihand river.
The Lucknow bench of the high court has directed the chief secretary to join the proceedings through video conferencing, while it has further ordered the additional chief secretary or principal secretary of the Irrigation Department, the additional chief secretary or principal secretary of the Energy Department and the managing director of Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (UPRVUNL) to appear before it on August 31.
A bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Rajeev Bharti passed the order on the writ petition filed by Hindalco Industries Limited and another concerning the levy of charges for drawing water from the Rihand river.
The court had earlier reserved its judgment in the matter but reopened the issue after finding discrepancies between the stand conveyed by the state during arguments and the position emerging from its records.
In its July 2 order, the bench had sought a categorical response on whether the erstwhile UP State Electricity Board, UP Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd or UPRVUNL had the authority to raise bills against Hindalco for drawing water from the Rihand river.
It had also asked whether the state claimed ownership over the river water and, if so, over which stretch or area, and whether the electricity corporations had any exclusive right to use the water.
On August 12, the court noted that Anil Garg, Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department, joined the proceedings through video conferencing but the additional chief secretary, Energy Department, did not join despite the earlier direction.
The bench said that none of the queries raised in its July 2 order could be answered during discussions with the state counsel. "We have no other option but to summon the officials... to appear and assist the Court themselves," it observed.
The court has now directed the senior officials to appear personally and file a better and comprehensive affidavit answering all the queries raised earlier. It further directed them to sit together and work out the answers under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.
The court's earlier order had noted that minutes of government meetings held in 2013 and 2017 appeared to indicate that the state was claiming entitlement to royalty for withdrawal of water, even if the charges were being collected through the electricity corporations.
The bench had also questioned the state's failure to properly address the issue despite the matter having been heard on several dates.
