Inter-State Boundary Dispute: Punjab And Haryana High Court Directs Haryana, UP Govts To Deposit Expenses For Boundary Pillars

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to deposit the sums of money into the relevant heads of accounts of the relevant department of the Union of India within a week, towards the expenses for erection of the boundary pillars at the disputed border sites.

The division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari further directed the Survey of India to not wait for the actual deposit of money and rather proceed most promptly to comply with the directions made by the Court on May 5.

The court on May 5 had directed Survey of India's Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh Geo-spatial Data Centre (PHCGDC) in Chandigarh to ensure that a detailed site plan is prepared after an exercise is carried out by its experts, along with revenue officers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, in respect of the boundary disputes between the two states. 

The Court had further directed both the state governments to within one week deposit the amount as are required to be borne equally by them for the purpose. However, on May 25, ASG Satya Pal Jain told the court that both the States have not yet deposited the sums of money. It was further informed that the survey teams have already been dispatched to the sites concerned.

The court observed that the non-deposits of the money has resulted in no further action being taken by the authorities concerned in pursuance to the directions made by the Court on May 5. The Counsels appearing for both the States respectively informed the court that the said deposits could not be made as the heads of accounts wherein the amounts are to be deposited rather were not intimated to them.

The court said even if the said heads of accounts were not intimated to the Chief Secretaries of the States of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, it was expected that of them to suo moto take steps for knowing the heads of accounts whereins such deposits were to be made. The lack of deployment of all logistic wherewhithals by the State of Uttar Pradesh and the State of Haryana, is the least sensitization, to the issue which requires to be eased at the earliest, it added.

“However, merely because of the lack of promptitude in the above regard, by the State of Uttar Pradesh, and, the State of Haryana, the farmers of both the States would be put to an immense difficulty, in theirs making cultivation of theirs respective tracts of lands,” the court said.

Thus, the court directed both the states to deposit the sums of money to the concerned department of Union of India within a week. The court further directed that its other directions shall be complied with so that immediately the task of erecting boundary pillars at the sites is completed within a period of two weeks by the Survey of India.

The matter is listed again on July 5.

Case Title: Dinesh Kumar & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors. and Other connected matters

Coram: Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kuldeep Tiwari

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