Chhattisgarh Officer fined with ₹53,000 Fine for Draining Reservoir in Pursuit of Lost Phone
A Chhattisgarh government official has been instructed to pay a sum of Rs 53,000 as compensation after causing the draining of a reservoir to retrieve their misplaced mobile phone.
Chhattisgarh Officer fined with ₹53,000 Fine for Draining Reservoir in Pursuit of Lost Phone
A Chhattisgarh government official has been instructed to pay a sum of Rs 53,000 as compensation after causing the draining of a reservoir to retrieve their misplaced mobile phone. Additionally, a show cause notice has been served to a sub-divisional officer from the Water Resources Department who granted "verbal consent" for the reservoir drainage.
Last week, Rajesh Vishwas, a food inspector, accidentally dropped his smartphone into the Kherkatta Dam located in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh state while attempting to take a selfie.
Initially, Vishwas sought assistance from local divers to locate his smartphone in the reservoir, expressing concern over the presence of sensitive government data on the device. However, when their attempts to retrieve the phone proved unsuccessful, he made a request to use diesel pumps to drain the reservoir.
According to local media reports, within a span of four days, May 21 to May 25 , over 2 million liters of water were extracted from the reservoir. This quantity of water would have been sufficient to irrigate approximately 1,500 acres (607 hectares) of land during the intense summer season in India.
Videos of the incident went viral
Videos depicting the incident went viral on social media, capturing Vishwas seated under a red umbrella while diesel pumps were utilized to drain water from the reservoir.
In interviews with local media, Vishwas claimed that the water in the reservoir was unsuitable for irrigation purposes and that he had obtained authorization from a senior official to initiate the drainage process.
"Officials of irrigation department told me water was not being used by farmers and I could empty it by 3 feet [about 1 metre], so I got the water drained into a canal and made it usable,”he said.
After an extensive effort, the phone was eventually recovered. However, it was rendered inoperable due to water damage.
In the wake of widespread criticism for his actions, Vishwas was subsequently suspended by the authorities. This incident sparked concerns about the misuse of water resources, particularly in a country like India, which faces significant water scarcity issues. With extreme temperatures exacerbating the situation, the nation encounters severe water stress, resulting in adverse consequences such as crop failures, forest fires, and power cuts.
Action has been taken to punish the official
According to an order issued by a subdivisional officer from the Water Resources Department (WRD) to Biswas, it states that draining lakhs of liters of water from the reservoir using a diesel pump without official permission to search for a mobile phone is deemed illegal and a violation of the Chhattisgarh Irrigation Act. The act of wasting water for personal interests has led to the imposition of a fine amounting to Rs 53,092, which includes charges for both the water wastage and the unauthorized action. Over a span of four days, Biswas had approximately 4,014 cubic meters of water pumped out from the Paralkot reservoir after his mobile phone accidentally fell into it while he was taking a selfie with his friends. As a result of extensive media coverage of the incident, Biswas was subsequently suspended.
According to statements given by Biswas to the media, he stated that he had "conversed" about the matter with R L Dhivar, the WRD subdivisional officer, prior to initiating the water drainage process.
Following the incident, a show cause notice was issued to Dhivar, who denied having any knowledge of the incident. He asserted that as soon as they received information about water being discharged from the reservoir, prompt action was taken to halt the pumping and remove the pump from the location. However, this response was deemed unsatisfactory.
As a result, on Monday, Kanker collector Priyanka Shukla recommended initiating disciplinary action against Dhivar for allegedly granting verbal permission to drain the water.
In a letter issued by the Water Resources Department, Dhivar has been requested to pay a fine for the wastage of water in the reservoir. The letter stated that the extraction of water from the reservoir, resulting in its depletion, was considered illegal and fell under the category of offenses punishable under the provisions outlined in the Irrigation Act.
