Over 1,400 open borewells have been closed across Punjab following the death of two-year-old Fatehvir Singh after falling in a 150-foot-deep borewell shaft in Sangrur district, the state government informed the Punjab and Haryana Hight Court on Wednesday.
In a status report filed in the court, the state government informed that a total of 1,418 borewells were found open across Punjab and all of them were now closed.
"The Deputy Commissioner(s) in their respective areas carried out a survey and closed a total of 1,418 borewells found to be open across the state," Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said in an affidavit filed before a division bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli here.
The high court had on June 17 asked the state government to file a status reporton the incident in which Fatehvir Singh died in a borewell shaft in Punjab's Sangrur district. The toddler had fallen in the shaft on June 6 and was pulled out dead on June 11.
The directions were issued following a public interest litigation filed by a Mohali-based resident, Parminder Singh Sekhon.
The state government informed the court on Wednesday that out of 1,418 open borewells, 674 were found in Sangrur, followed by 116 in Mansa.
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No open borewell was found open in Muktsar and Moga districts, according to an annexure filed by the Chief Secretary.
On measures being taken to prevent such incidents in future, the state government informed the court that in a meeting chaired by the CS on June 12, it was decided that the department of water resources would "finalise a draftbill expeditiously to ensure procedure for prior permission before digging borewells".
While the power department would issue instructions to all tube-well connection holders to cap abandoned borewells and department of local bodies will issue instructions to all the urban local bodies to cover all the open manholes within their jurisdiction.
The court was informed that the borewell, which was in front of the main gate of the home of the Fatehvir, had remained redundant for the past 20 years.
The land, where the borewell was dug up, belonged to his grandfather Rohi Singh.
"It is stated that the unfortunate incident took place at the private land of the family of the deceased child... Despite of the proximity of location, the abandoned borewell was neither covered or filled nor the area around the borewell was fenced," the chief secretary informed the court in the status report.
Additional Solicitor General of India Satyapal Jain, who represented the Centre in this case, said the court has fixed the next date for hearing on July 31.