Nepal disaster impact: Sikkim High Court initiates PIL on climate justice

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Sikkim High Court said the PIL was initiated after it noted the impact of the disaster in Nepal, whose Himalayan landscape is similar to Sikkim’s. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

The High Court of Sikkim has initiated a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on climate justice after “taking note of the severe hardship and impact of the recent flash floods in Nepal”.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, left 1,410 people dead and 6,145 still missing in northern and central Nepal.

In an order on September 17, a Bench comprising Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan made the Railway Ministry and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), along with the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority and the State Power Department, respondents in the PIL on “climate justice”.

The court issued notices to these four authorities.

The court said the PIL was initiated after it noted the impact of the disaster in Nepal, whose Himalayan landscape is similar to Sikkim’s. According to its order, the Chief Justice explained the grounds for initiating the proceedings in a detailed note.

“At the outset, the court considers it imperative to hear the public and potentially local communities who are likely to be affected by providing an accessible platform for them to voice their concerns,” the order reads.

The court appointed three legal experts as amici curiae to help it examine the issues arising from the proceedings, and listed the matter for the next hearing on October 6.

Sikkim has been a disaster-prone State, with hydropower, highways, and tunnelling projects said to make it more fragile. More than 1,200 people have died between the “Great Sikkim Floods” in October 1968 and the South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood in October 2023.

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