Judgement of the National Green Tribunal regarding encroachment of river Hoogly due to Ganga River Bank Development, West Bengal, 13/09/2017
Judgement of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Subhas Datta Vs State of West Bengal & Others dated 13/09/2017 regarding construction work being undertaken in the name of Ganga river bank development towards Kolkata and Howrah side thereby encroaching upon the river Hoogly. The Applicant has specifically mentioned about construction of Parking space towards South-West side of Nimtala Ghat Crematorium by reclaiming a sizeable portion of the river bank, and construction of pathway at the eastern side of river Hoogly by Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority.
NGT Kolkata Bench directs KoPT (Kolkata Port Trust) to take up the rehabilitation work near Millennium Park covering around 1 Km, both upstream & downstream combined to prevent further erosion and complete it within one year. The Tribunal further directs that any proposal on construction, beautification or other activities in the area under the jurisdiction of KoPT, which do not fall under the ambit of Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, shall not be permitted by KoPT unless it fulfills certain conditions.