"Paramount Duty Of State To Protect Water Bodies": Apex Court Directs Uttar Pradesh To Form Committee To Investigate Illegal Filling Of Ponds In Bijnor

The Supreme Court has directed the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment of the State of Uttar Pradesh to form a Committee to investigate the illegal filling of ponds, lakes, and water bodies in Tehsil Nagina, District Bijnor.

The directions were passed in a plea filed highlighting the alarming issue of these water bodies being filled with garbage and subsequently encroached upon through illegal constructions.

The Bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih expressed concern over the disappearance of these natural water resources and emphasized the constitutional duty of the State to protect and restore such environmental assets.

At the outset, the Bench stated that the issue raised by the appellant before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was of immense importance.

The Counsel for the appellant pointed out certain instances of ponds/lakes/water bodies being filled in by garbage and other material. He also submitted that after filling in the ponds/lakes/water bodies, illegal constructions have been made. The NGT had called for a report. It is to be noted that the appellant who was the applicant before the NGT.

The Court noted that while some remedial action had been taken to remove garbage from at least one pond, the application by the appellant application had been kept pending. "The impugned order, which is very short, indicates that at least in the case of one pond, such allegation was found to be correct and, therefore, the NGT has recorded that a portion of the garbage dumped in the pond has been removed. In our view, NGT ought to have kept the application pending," the Court further noted.

"It is the paramount duty of the State not only to protect the ponds/lakes/water bodies in the State but also to ensure that ponds/lakes/water bodies, which have been illegally filled in, are restored. It is the Constitutional duty of the State to do so. The Committee appointed by the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, will make a note of this obligation on the part of the State," the Bench remarked.

The Court directed the Committee, to be constituted within three weeks, and should include senior officials from the Revenue Department, Environment Department, and State Pollution Control Board.

"...the Committee will deal with the grievances made by the appellant about the ponds/lakes/water bodies in Tehsil Nagina, District Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. The State Government shall ensure that the inspection of the entire revenue record relating to the properties which are mentioned in paragraph 4 of the application made by the appellant is provided to the Committee. After examining the old revenue records, the Committee will ascertain whether there were any entries regarding existence of the ponds/lakes/water bodies. The Committee constituted by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment shall make a visit to the properties on which ponds/lakes/water bodies were in existence. In addition, the Committee will visit the lands described in paragraph 4 of the application filed before the NGT. The Committee will make in-depth study on the allegation of disappearance of ponds/lakes/water bodies in Tehsil Nagina. The Committee will suggest measures for the restoration thereof. Subsequently, the scope of the work of the Committee can be expanded to cover many districts," the Court said in its order dated July 16.

The Bench said that the Committee is required to submit its initial report to the Court through the State of Uttar Pradesh by November 15, 2024. The appellant has been granted permission to be present during inspections, underscoring the seriousness of the environmental concerns raised. "Copies of the reports of the Committee shall be submitted to this Court through the State of Uttar Pradesh. The first report shall be submitted by the Committee to this Court on or before 15th November, 2024," it ordered.

Accordingly, the Court listed the the Appeal on November 22, 2024 under the caption of ‘Directions’, for consideration of the report.

Cause Title: Mirza Abid Beg v. State of U.P and Ors. [Civil Appeal No(s).1904/2020]

Appearance:-

Appellant: Advocates Ashutosh Dube (AOR), Abhishek Chauhan, Rajshri A. Dubey, H.B. Dubey, Amit P. Shahi, Amit Kumar, Gaurav Yadav

Respondent: Advocates Vijendra Singh (AOR) Aarohi Bhalla, Abhinav Rathi, Divyakshi Singh, Apurva Singh, Vinay Garg (AOR), Neetu Rawat, Upendra Mishra

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