NGT Orders Three-Month Deadline To Remove Green Belt, Forest Encroachments In Bhopal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Zone Bench, Bhopal, has come down heavily on civic and administrative authorities over the failure to effectively prevent and remove encroachments from public land, green belts and forest areas in Bhopal. The Tribunal has raised serious concern over the large-scale encroachment of forest land in Madhya Pradesh, as the state has…
The National Green Tribunal has imposed a three-month deadline on Bhopal authorities to remove encroachments from public land, green belts and forest areas. The tribunal expressed alarm over the extensive forest land encroachment in Madhya Pradesh, which has reported the highest rate of forest land encroachment in the country. Despite prior proceedings, no action was taken against officials allowing unauthorized construction or occupation of public land.
The tribunal directed the Bhopal Municipal Corporation to furnish details of actions taken against errant officials and stressed that failure to enforce laws could hold the officers liable. The collector and divisional forest officer were ordered to conduct a joint survey and demarcation of recorded forest land using GIS/GPS and satellite imagery.
Illegal encroachments must be removed within three months, and reclaimed land must be protected and converted into green cover within 12 months. Green belts were forbidden from being concretized and must remain forested to benefit local residents. The BMC was tasked with high-resolution GIS mapping, tree census, identification of encroachments, and a long-term afforestation strategy. Quarterly encroachment records were to be prepared and monitored for 15 years.
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