The NGT said a study is needed to assess whether a pedestrian bridge extending into the Panzara river in Maharashtra’s Dhule district is obstructing water flow.
The tribunal asked the Central Water and Power Research Station to explain why it needs six months to complete the study.
The NGT directed Kolkata Municipal Corporation to commission and operationalise its water treatment plants by December 2026 and file a compliance report by January 15, 2027.
The tribunal also sought responses from Madhya Pradesh authorities, NHAI and PWD Bhopal on steps taken to free tree bases from concrete and remove signboards and wires attached to trees.
A study must be conducted to assess the obstruction to water flow caused by the construction of a French curve-shaped pedestrian bridge inside the Panzara river in Dhule district, Maharashtra, the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) western bench said on July 9, 2026.
The matter involves alleged encroachment into the river, with the structure extending 30 metres into the waterway, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh observed.
The tribunal, however, said the six-month period sought by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Khadakwasla, to conduct the study was too long. It directed CWPRS to appear before the court and explain why it needed that much time to complete the study and submit its report.
In compliance with the NGT’s earlier order of June 22, 2026, the Public Works Department, Dhule, and the Public Works Department, Nashik, submitted a letter from CWPRS dated June 30, 2026. The letter gave a tentative budgetary proposal for “mathematical model studies” to assess changes in flow conditions because of the bridge’s construction inside the Panzara river.
The proposed study would cost Rs 12 lakh and take six months, CWPRS said. The Public Works Department, Dhule, and Public Works Department, Nashik, told the tribunal that six months was too long and that the project would become infructuous if delayed for that period.
The NGT’s eastern bench on July 8, 2026, directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to adhere to the December 2026 timeline for commissioning and operationalising water treatment plants.
On July 1, 2025, the tribunal had directed the corporation to complete the project for the supply of piped drinking water by December 2025. It had also asked the civic body to file a compliance affidavit by April 15, 2026.
In a report dated April 9, 2026, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said the water treatment plants were likely to be commissioned and operationalised by the end of December 2026.
Taking note of the report, the tribunal disposed of the application and directed the corporation to ensure the plants are commissioned and operationalised by the end of December 2026. It also asked the civic body to file a compliance report with all required details by January 15, 2027.
The NGT on July 7, 2026, directed authorities to submit their responses on steps taken to free tree bases from concrete and remove signboards and electric wires attached to trees in and around Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The directions were issued to the Secretary, Urban Development, Madhya Pradesh; the National Highways Authority of India; and the Public Works Department, Bhopal.
The matter concerns the execution of earlier directions issued to the Urban Development Department, Madhya Pradesh, to frame guidelines ensuring a one metre by one metre gap around tree plantations when paving blocks or concrete are laid in or outside Bhopal.
The tribunal had also directed NHAI and PWD, Bhopal, to ensure that signboards, names, advertisements, boards, signage, electric wires and high-tension cables are removed from trees. The departments were also asked to take preventive measures to stop the defacing of trees.
Counsel for the applicant told the tribunal that the Urban Development Department, PWD, Bhopal, and NHAI had not complied with the directions issued to them.
The original application was filed by Raj Krishna Kewat before the NGT’s central bench. It said nearly 25 trees along Babulal Gour Marg in Awadhpuri had been completely encased in cement, restricting the flow of air and water to their roots.