Assuring that the government is serious about the NGT ban on commercial activities in Rohtang, Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the state will move Supreme Court to seek justice in case NGT does not give any relief.
The Chief Minister told the Vidhan Sabha that the state would take all possible steps to provide relief to the affected people.
"The state will move the Supreme Court to seek justice in case the NGT did not give any relief," he said replying to a calling attention moved by Manali MLA, Gobind Singh Thakur.
The issue had rocked the state assembly yesterday also as Thakur wanted his adjournment motion on the subject to be admitted and alleged that the government was not seriously contesting the orders of NGT.
However, Singh today said that it waswrong to blame the state government for not pleading the case of the affected people before the NGT effectively after it banned number of tourists activities on the Rohtang Pass.
"The state has effectively raised the concern of locals affected bythe NGT order after filing an affidavit, urging the NGT to re-consider the decision," he said.
The Chief Minister said the government had shownconcern at every step of the hearing, but can approach the Supreme Court only after the NGT gave final order.
Singh said that he respected the NGT, but felt that the order on banning activities between Manali and Rohtang was an overreaction and itshould reconsider the decision.
"The state did not agree with the NGT order entirely and it may approach the Supreme Court, if green bench did not give relief to the affected people," he reiterated.
Stressing the need to phase out services causing pollution on the Rohtang Pass, Singh said not all type of tourism activities were harming the Rohtang Pass.
Earlier, moving the motion, Thakur had said,"livelihood of local taxi drivers, para-gliding operators,river rafting operators had been badly hit due to the order. But the government was indifferent."
He also said that taxi operators were without any work and many delegationshad already met Chief Minister on the issue and Singh had assured them to take up the matter to the apex court.
