NGT fines Lonavala municipal body Rs 5 Lakh as civic authority failed to look into Indrayani river encroachment

Civic authority failed to look into Indrayani river encroachment

The principal bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a recent order slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the Lonavala Municipal Council (LMC) which will be raised by another Rs 5 lakh, if the payment is not made to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within eight days.

The bench was compelled to take this decision after the LMC failed to clarify its stand to the court on an alleged encroachment on the Indrayani river. The civic body had cited election duties over the last two months as a reason for its failure.

The petition was filed in February after a local resident allegedly dumped a huge amount of debris inside the river to construct his bungalow. The dumping allegedly diverted the flow of river water creating a threat to the river ecosystem. The Indrayani river originates in Kurvande village 6 kmfrom Lonavala.

The encroachment has been allegedly committed by Prakash Misrimal Porwal, district president of Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan Nyas — an NGO. The NGO is run by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Local activists Suresh Pujari and Aashish Rohidas Shinde had filed the petition before the NGT, New Delhi, saying the respondent Porwal allegedly encroached on Indrayani near Bhushi village at survey number 24.

During the hearing on February 27 this year, the bench had ordered civic officials to make their submission within 30 days by constituting a joint committee to conduct a survey of the site and demarcation with the help of MPCB, irrigation department, revenue authority, and so on. However, the chief officer ignored the order and did not reply. As a result, on May 1, the NGT bench of Justice SP Wangdi, Justice K Ramkrishnan and expert member Nagin Nanda took serious cognisance and fined the council Rs 5 lakh.

“We find it difficult to accept their contention and it appears to be acase of negligence on the part of the municipal council. In view of the brazen non-compliance of directions, we shall permit the council to submit its report within 30 days from now subject to payment of a penalty of Rs 5 lakh which will have to be submitted with the CPCB within a period of one week from now. Further delay shall entail an additional penalty of Rs 5 lakh,” says the order.

The bench will conduct the next hearing on July 3.

Porwal said, “The construction which has been claimed as illegal is not declared as such by the committee. The petitioners have past rivalry with me and they are using the court to defame me. I have been into social work for decades as an environment and civic activist. I have personally unearthed several land scams. The petitioners are trying to settle their scores against me.”

Sachin Pawar, CEO of LMC could not be contacted. However, a senior officer from the civic body said, “We informed the NGT that a committeehad been set up to look into the encroachment but it got delayed because of elections. We accepted that it was the responsibility of the council to ensure there was no encroachment, We have assured the panel that the council and will present its version in court shortly.”