New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the UP government for not following its order on preserving ponds and lakes, and said the state was duty-bound to restore such water bodies that disappeared due to encroachment.
The top court, on July 16 last year, directed the secretary of the environment ministry in Uttar Pradesh to form a committee, comprising senior officials from the Revenue and Environment departments and the State Pollution Control Board, to investigate and address the grievances raised over the encroachment of water bodies especially in Bijnor district.
On Friday, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan took a strong exception to the non-compliance of the direction and asked the environment department secretary to personally file an affidavit by January 24 detailing the steps taken following its July 16 order.
“What is UP doing?… Where is the compliance of our order?” the bench asked. The UP government, it said, would have to identify and restore all the lakes that disappeared in the state. The bench posted the plea file by one Mirza Abid Beg for hearing on January 27.
The plea alleged encroachments and illegal construction over the water bodies in the state. The state government was represented by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain.
The bench had issued comprehensive directions aimed at protecting and restoring ponds, lakes, and other water bodies in Uttar Pradesh.
The plea stemmed from a grievance raised before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and alleged numerous ponds and lakes were being filled with garbage and other debris with subsequent illegal construction on the reclaimed land.
While the NGT acknowledged a part of the claims and ordered partial action, the Supreme Court observed the NGT should have kept the application pending to ensure a more thorough investigation.
While asking the state to form the committee, the bench said the panel would examine old revenue records to verify the historical existence of ponds, lakes, and water bodies.
The panel would conduct site visits to ascertain the current status of the water bodies, investigate allegations of encroachments and illegal constructions and propose measures for the restoration of water bodies, it said. The bench asked the committee to submit its first report to it by November 15, 2024.
To ensure transparency, appellant Mirza Abid Beg was allowed to be present during inspections, although no additional individuals would accompany him, it said. It indicated the scope of the committee’s work could expand to other districts following the initial study.
