Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Describing encroachment on government land as a “crime worse than robbery and dacoity”, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Zone Bench, Bhopal, on Wednesday questioned the failure of authorities to protect public property and take action against those facilitating illegal occupation.
The tribunal observed that unlike robbery or dacoity, where the victim offers resistance, encroachment on government land is carried out openly “before the eyes” of executives and officials entrusted with protecting state property.
It noted that such encroachments take place despite the presence of thousands of security personnel, armed police and enforcement machinery, including bulldozers.
The NGT made the observations while hearing matters concerning encroachment on the Bhoj Wetland, including Aarya Shrivastava vs Union of India & Others and Rashid Noor Khan vs Collector, Bhopal & Others.
The tribunal also referred to data compiled by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, stating that about 5.46 lakh hectares of forest land was under encroachment as per data published in March 2025.
Advocate Harshwardhan Tiwari, appearing for petitioner Rashid Noor Khan, told Free Press that the tribunal also pulled up administrative officials over the delay in demolition action against encroachers.
‘Government land is not ancestral property’
The tribunal said government land cannot be treated as the ancestral property of any individual or officer and permissions for illegal settlements or constructions cannot be granted arbitrarily.
It also stressed that officials of municipal bodies, semi-government agencies and government departments whose inaction or negligence enables illegal construction and encroachment must be held accountable.
The NGT referred to Supreme Court observations on illegal construction and encroachment in Delhi and said the growing occupation of public land demonstrated the need to fix responsibility within the system, apart from taking action against encroachers.
NGT calls for time-bound removal
The present proceedings relate to encroachment on the Bhoj Wetland and other water bodies. The tribunal had earlier directed authorities to carry out demarcation based on the Full Tank Level (FTL)/Full Reservoir Level (FRL).
It called for independent district-wise verification and mapping of encroachments and a time-bound programme for removing illegal occupation from public land.
Detailed report before next hearing
The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) submitted an interim action-taken report and sought four weeks to file a detailed report.
The tribunal directed that the detailed report be completed and submitted before the next date of listing, which is scheduled for October 6.
