CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the state government and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on a petition seeking intervention against alleged inaction on encroachment over government land meant for passage of rainwater in Balasore district.
The NGT's east zone bench in Kolkata issued the notices recently on a petition which alleged obstruction of Nayanjori land leads to waterlogging in Basta Bazar area, causing inconvenience as well as environmental hazard. The land is adjacent to the road connecting to the NH under Basta tehsil. Gobardhan Prasad Dalai, a local resident, filed the petition.
When the petition was taken up for hearing on September 1, advocate Sankar Prasad Pani, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submitted the purpose of government land recorded in Nayanjori category is to accumulate and facilitate easy flow of rainwater or discharge of wastewater from nearby upstream areas to another area and finally leading to a river system. But the stretch of nayanjori land is being occupied by encroachers and in the process the nature of the land is being changed, Pani alleged. Taking note of it, the bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Dr Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) observed, "In our opinion the matter requires consideration" and issued notices to additional chief secretary, revenue and disaster management, Balasore collector and Basta tehsildar to reply within four weeks.
Start a Conversation
Post comment