Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding encroachment of a water body Chandan Polchari, village Gopinathpur, district Puri, Odisha, 05/12/2024
Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Madanmohan Rout Vs Nilakanteswar Dev & Others dated 05/12/2024.
The matter related to encroachment of a water body, Chandan Polchari situated in village Gopinathpur, district Puri, Odisha. It was alleged that the water body has started losing its water retention capacity due to uncontrolled pollution and encroachment and is being converted into dumping yard by dumping all kinds of solid and liquid waste of the nearby areas. It was stated that the water body is used not only for farming and fishing purposes but also for religious purposes.
A committee visited the site and observed that the water body is enclosed form three sides by private plots, school and temple premises. Commercial establishments existed on the fourth side. It was found that the pond has been fully covered with water hyacinth which restricts the flow of the sunlight and air entering the pond creating an anaerobic condition. Some private houses and private shops are discharging their domestic waste water directly into the pond. They are also dumping the household solid wastes near the pond area. The area comes under Panchayat jurisdiction and does not come under Puri Municipality thus solid waste are not removed regularly. The pond has been severely polluted and it is not in use.
"It is a fact that the Chandan Pokhari has not been used by the public for the last 8 to 10 years. So due to non-use of the said pond, the water is covered with water hyacinth and nobody has taken steps for removal of it," the committee report said. The committee recommended steps for immediate renovation of Chandan Pokhari.
The committee in its report has recommended that water hyacinth shall be removed completely from the pond; private houses and the private shops be instructed to stop discharging of the domestic waste water into the pond and from throwing/dumping of household and shop solid waste into the pond. It is also recommended that the pond be desilted and proper lined embankment be provided around the pond so that no outside waste enters into the pond.
It was also recommended by the committee that the pond be provided with an outlet to release the excess water from the pond to nearby drainage system to avoid overflow to the nearby areas during the rainy season. The NGT directed the Collector and District Magistrate, Puri, to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the inspection committee with the assistance from Nilakanteswar Dev temple and file affidavit of compliance within four weeks.