No notification was issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) nor Odisha government to declare Agula Bandha, a water body in Berhampur in Odisha as either an eco-sensitive zone or a wetland, according to the affidavit filed by MoEFCC before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on May 20, 2025.
The matter related to the removal of illegal construction / obstruction caused by state authorities as well as the private persons in the ecological sensitive zone — Agula Bandha and its embankment at Gosaninuagaon under Berhampur tehsil, Ganjam district, Odisha.
The report observed that the state and the state wetland authorities (SWA) have been entrusted with the powers and responsibility to monitor and conserve wetlands within their jurisdiction. The application to the court accused the state government of Odisha and its concerned organisations as well as SWA. Thus, they are required to take necessary action in the Agula Bandha (common water bodies) and its embankment at Gosaninuagaon.
NGT has passed multiple orders on the issue. One order of August 3, 2022 had directed the collector-cum-district magistrate of Ganjam district to remove a temple constructed over an area of 0.012 acres within a month and restore the land as 'Jalasaya'.
The state government was directed to demarcate land of an equivalent size of 11.5 acres, including 0.012 acres of the land that will become available after demolition of Maa Mangala temple, as far as possible close to the Agula Bandha waterbody. If not possible, the authorities have to re-create a water body of the same size and depth as Agula Bandha in the vicinity.
Patna Municipal Corporation’s role is limited to cleaning of drains and solid waste management within the city and it has been discharging these duties to the best of its abilities. This was stated in the counter affidavit filed by the chief municipal engineer, Patna Nagar Nigam before NGT May 20, 2025.
The corporation has been diligently performing its statutory duties within the limitations of the available resources and infrastructure, the report noted.
The construction, operation and maintenance of sewage treatment plants (STP) and major drainage systems in Patna fall under the purview of the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCO) and not directly under the Patna Municipal Corporation, according to the division of responsibilities between various government agencies, the chief engineer said in his report.
Patna Municipal Corporation has been regularly undertaking cleaning operations of the drains within its jurisdiction to prevent clogging and overflow. The corporation has deployed dedicated teams for desilting and removal of solid waste from all major and minor drains.
In a letter dated May 16, 2025, the Patna Municipal Corporation expressed its intention to connect the drainage system to the current sewage treatment plants during the rainy season to control and manage pollution.
The corporation requested BUIDCO to provide information about sewer networks located alongside or near the six ghats in Patna (Loharwa Ghat, Bharwa Ghat, Gaay Ghat, Rani Ghat, Anta Ghat and Masjit Ghat) for adjoining the drains to the sewage network. The corporation also sought a timeline for completion of STPs from BUIDCO.
Patna Municipal Corporation has intensively implemented a door-to-door waste collection system in Patna city to ensure that household waste is properly segregated, collected and disposed of, thereby reducing the likelihood of waste being dumped into drains.
BUIDCO has already floated tenders and allotted contracts for setting up STPs in various locations in Patna, which are expected to be completed within a time frame specified by BUIDCO, they infomed.
Regarding the claims about the state of drains at Loharwa Ghat, Bahrwa Ghat, Gaay Ghat, Rani Ghat, Anta Ghat, and Masjid Ghat, it was stated that although these drains may have exhibited high levels of certain factors as mentioned in the application submitted to NGT, the municipal corporation has been consistently cleaning them to eliminate solid waste and decrease pollution.
The status of forest diversion proposal for 8.3581 hectares for setting up a super critical coal-based thermal power plant at Dadri Khurd village, Mirzapur tehsil, Uttar Pradesh is pending with the Lucknow office of MoEFCC.
A site inspection on February 25, 2025 found that the project proponent had already constructed the boundary wall all around the project. The proponent has also constructed a rainwater storage pond. High-tension wires have also been passed through project land, according to the report by MoEFCC on March 20, 2025.
It was also found that the project land was not connected with the main road. The project proponent has identified a single route through forest land, for which they paid access fees to the local forest department (Madhihan range) amounting to Rs 5,000 on August 16, 2024 and Rs 11,650 on December 30, 2024.
A petition submitted to NGT claimed that Mirzapur Energy (Uttar Pradesh) Pvt Ltd engaged in unauthorised construction, removal of vegetation and deforestation through extensive earthmoving and land-leveling to establish the plant.
MoEFCC had issued an environment clearance (EC) on August 21, 2014 to the project. However, NGT, via judgement dated December 21, 2016, quashed the EC.
The project proponent applied afresh for the same project on May 8, 2024 to the MoEFCC for undertaking a detailed Environment Impact Assessment study.
The project activity is covered under category A of item 1 (d) 'Thermal Power Plants' of the schedule to the EIA Notification, 2006. The power generation capacity of proposed expansion is beyond the threshold capacity of 500 MW and requires appraisal at central level. The project proponent reported an area of 0.62 hectare of forest land inside the plant boundary but at the same time applied for forest clearance over an area of 4.0123 hectares.
The project proponent submitted an application for an area of 0.62 hectares but a joint inspection by divisional forest officer and sub-divisional magistrate revealed that the land is non-forest. Furthermore, due to the presence of forested areas near a water pipeline and access road, Stage I Forest Clearance has been requested and is currently being reviewed by MoEFCC.
The project proponent was suggested by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to obtain a letter from the concerned forest department mentioning the extent of forest land involved within and outside the plant area.
The EAC suggested that while preparing the EIA report / environmental management plan, the project proponent would explore the possibility of optimising forest land requirement to the extent possible and submit a detailed note on the same at the time of EC presentation.