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 reported the highest extent of forest land under encroachment in the country.
While disposing of Original Application filed by environmentalist Dr Subhash C Pandey, the Tribunal issued a series of stringent directions to the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), collector, Forest Department and other authorities.
The order, uploaded on Aug 21, noted that despite repeated proceedings, no action had been taken against even a single official responsible for allowing unauthorised construction or occupation of public land.
The Tribunal directed the municipal commissioner/chief executive officer to furnish details of action taken against errant officials and made it clear that failure to enforce Central or State laws could fasten liability on the responsible officer.
It further observed that unauthorised occupation of public land may be presumed to have occurred with the connivance of officials concerned.
Forest land to be surveyed, fenced and restored
In its latest directions, the Tribunal ordered the collector and divisional forest officer to conduct a joint survey and demarcation of the entire recorded forest land in Bhopal district using GIS/GPS and satellite imagery.
Illegal encroachments, where there is no lawful impediment, must be removed within three months. The reclaimed land must then be protected through permanent boundary pillars or fencing and correctly entered in revenue records.
The Tribunal further directed that the reclaimed areas must not be left vulnerable to fresh encroachments. The Forest Department has been ordered to restore such land through plantation and convert it into green cover within 12 months.
Green belts to remain green
The NGT directed that encroachments along central and side road verges be removed systematically, followed by fencing, afforestation and geo-tagging.
It also prohibited concretisation in green-belt areas, stressing that these spaces must remain green to serve as the lungs for local residents.
The BMC has also been directed to undertake high-resolution GIS mapping and a comprehensive tree census, identify encroachments and open land, and prepare a long-term afforestation strategy using indigenous species.
Compensatory plantation in municipal areas will be monitored for 15 years to ensure survival of trees.
NGT raises concern as MP tops in forest land encroachment
The NGT noted that around 5,46,089 hectares of forest land in MP was reported to be under encroachment up to March 2024, while action for removal had been taken over only 17,496 hectares.
The Tribunal also noted a reported 7.17% loss of forest cover and a decline of around 0.54 sq km of forest cover in Bhopal district between 2021 and 2023. It called for independent verification, district-wise mapping and a time-bound removal programme.
The collector-level committee will now have to prepare quarterly encroachment records, including the location, area, action taken and status of removal, and submit the information for further monitoring by the Tribunal.
