Chandigarh, May 30 (PTI) The state cabinet today decided to bring an ordinance for setting up the Haryana Pond and Waste Water Management Authority.

The Haryana Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, approved the draft ordinance for setting up the authority which would manage all ponds located outside notified forest areas in the state, except those having an area of less than 0.5 acre.

The authority would comprise the chief minister as the chairperson, the minister in-charge for irrigation and water resources, and minister in-charge for development and panchayats as senior vice-chairperson.

A person of eminence in the field of water resources management will be appointed as executive vice-chairman, an official release said, adding a village pond and waste water management committee will also be set up which will be headed by the sarpanch.

Under the ordinance, no person will be allowed to construct any structure on pond land, green belt and catchment areas, occupy any pond land or part thereof or cause any obstruction in the natural or normal course of inflow or outflow of water into or from the pond on the upstream or down-stream without permission of the authority.

Those who violate the provisions shall be liable for fine not exceeding Rs 25,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both.

The cabinet also approved the creation of the post of vice-chairperson in the Haryana State Commission for Safai Karamcharis.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)