New Delhi, October 11
The Supreme Court today directed the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to immediately start implementing the safety measures recommended by the SC-appointed Special High Powered Committee (SHPC) for minimising casualties among the pilgrims.

A bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar passed the order after Advocate General MI Qadri informed the court that the state Cabinet had yesterday accepted “in principle” the recommendations made by the SHPC.

The bench asked the state government and SASB to begin with the widening of the track between Baltal and the cave shrine and the installation of sewer treatment plants at Baltal and complete as much work as possible before the winter season came in the way.

The SC also asked the Chief Secretary and the board to immediately prepare a blue-print for augmenting medical facilities all along the route and provision of one-way passage to the shrine, besides streamlining the registration process for the pilgrims and other ancillary work, including deployment of security forces for the next year’s yatra.

The tentative plan should be submitted to the court at the time of the next hearing on November 21, the Bench said.

While the state government would be held responsible for ensuring the implementation, the shrine Board would do the actual work taking assistance from all departments, the SC clarified and asked the statutory bodies to clear the projects expeditiously.

Private individuals and entities wanting to pitch in with the efforts in the form of funds or material and manpower could approach the Board which would have the discretion to accept or reject the offers. Since the state government had firmly rejected such offers, the board could utilise such help for the work which did not involve the government, the bench clarified.

In an affidavit filed in the court, Special Secretary (Tourism and Culture) AK Gupta said the Cabinet “agrees, in principle” with the recommendations of the SHPC for carrying out “different activities by different agencies in accordance with the various statutory provisions, including those related to forests, wildlife sanctuaries and eco-sensitive zones.”