Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought a comprehensive status report on illegal constructions and encroachments along the banks and floodplains of the Ganga across multiple states, while issuing notices to several Ganga basin states to assist the apex court in addressing the issue, reported IANS.
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan directed the Union Government, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and states through which the river flows to place before it a detailed report on the present status of encroachments and the steps taken to remove them.
The Bench was hearing an appeal filed by Ashok Kumar Sinha challenging a 2020 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dismissing his plea alleging encroachments on the floodplains of the Ganga in Patna. During the hearing, advocate Akash Vashishtha, appearing for the petitioner, informed the top court that 213 encroachments were identified in 2023 along the stretch between Digha Ghat and Nauzar Ghat in Patna, out of which 58 have been demolished, while 145 structures remain, partly due to interim orders passed by several courts.
Noting concerns about widespread encroachments, the apex court observed that the issue was not confined to Bihar and required a broader examination across all Ganga basin states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
“We would like to have a comprehensive detailed report highlighting the current status insofar as encroachments are concerned in all the states from where river Ganga is flowing or passing through,” the Bench said in its order.
The top court also asked the authorities to clarify the measures taken to implement the 2016 notification issued under the Environment (Protection) Act for rejuvenation, protection and management of the Ganga.
