The NGT upheld the decision to construct and widen the 16-km Asharam Tiraha-Ratnagiri Tiraha Ayodhya Bypass project in Bhopal, subject to compliance with environmental and tree protection rules.
The tribunal directed monitoring of compensatory plantation for 15 years and sought details on funds deposited and used for tree felling, plantation and re-afforestation in Madhya Pradesh.
In Ghaziabad, the NGT asked the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to verify compliance measures for conserving a polluted waterbody in Dasna village.
The tribunal also sought responses and a fact-finding report on alleged illegal sand mining in the Subarnarekha river in Odisha.
The National Green Tribunal on May 20, 2026 said that, considering traffic requirements, the administration had decided to construct and widen the 16-km road project from Asharam Tiraha on Karond Road, Bhopal, to Ratnagiri Tiraha on the Ayodhya Bypass in Bhopal. The project is to be constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The decision could not be challenged unless it violated any law or constitutional mandate, NGT said. No material had been placed before it to show that the respondents had violated any rule or law while widening the road, said the bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Sheo Kumar Singh.
The high-level committee constituted by the state government, headed by the additional chief secretary and comprising members from the forest and environment departments, had reconsidered and re-examined the project and found it suitable, subject to certain conditions, the tribunal said.
The length of the project was less than 100 kilometres and, under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notification dated July 14, 2022, it was exempt from the requirement of environmental clearance, NGT noted.
The court directed the respondents to comply with the Madhya Pradesh Vrakshon Ka Parirakshan Nagriya Kshetra Adhiniyam, 2001. If the number of trees to be felled for any development project exceeds the limit prescribed in the notification issued by the state government, the matter should be referred to the high-level centrally empowered committee constituted by Madhya Pradesh, it said.
Rules relating to compensatory plantation, compulsory afforestation, maintenance, the Green Highways Policy, plantation, transplantation, beautification and the Maintenance Policy, 2015 must be complied with, ensuring the survival of the trees, the order said. Compensatory plantation work would be periodically monitored for 15 years by a technical committee comprising members from the forest department, municipal corporation, horticulture department and the State Pollution Control Board.
Since the project is a nationally important inter-state connecting National Highway, the respondents must complete it within a fixed timeframe after fully complying with environmental rules, local laws and NHAI guidelines, the order said.
Permission for tree felling had been obtained from the competent authority and was duly approved by the Centrally Empowered Committee, the NGT said. Therefore, there was no illegality in the permission granted by the respondent authority.
NHAI was directed to submit a report detailing the total amount deposited with the relevant authority — the forest department, municipal corporation or tree officers in Madhya Pradesh — over the past five years. The report must include year-wise details and, where records are available, explain how the funds were utilised.
The member secretary of the Madhya Pradesh State Pollution Control Board was directed to collect information on the utilisation of funds deposited for plantation or re-afforestation under National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority, or for tree felling with the municipal corporation or social forestry department. The information must include the year-wise survival rate of trees over the past five years.
The NGT on May 22, 2026 directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to file a report after verifying the factual position on compliance measures taken by the executive officer of Nagar Palika Parishad, Dasna, for the preservation of a waterbody in Dasna village, Ghaziabad.
Nagar Palika Parishad, Dasna, filed its compliance report on May 21, 2026. The applicant, Afsar Ali, sought time to file objections or a response to the compliance report. The executive officer was also directed to file a further compliance report at least one day before the next hearing on August 4, 2026.
The district forest officer, Ghaziabad, was directed to plant trees around the pond during the forthcoming monsoon, with appropriate arrangements for maintenance and care for five years, and to file a report.
The matter concerns the cleaning of the pond opposite the religious place of Siddha Peeth Devi Temple at Dasna village, Pargana Dasna, Ghaziabad. The pond has allegedly become polluted because of dumped garbage and contaminated water, posing a health hazard to nearby residents and damaging surrounding agricultural fields and crops.
The eastern bench of the NGT on May 19, 2026 directed the district collector of Balasore to submit a response to a complaint alleging illegal sand mining in the Subarnarekha river on the stretch between Mohammad Nagar Patna and Sekhsarai. The complaint alleged that sand mining was being carried out without valid environmental clearance, consent to establish, consent to operate or a mining lease from the competent authority.
In addition, the mining officer, Balasore; the Directorate of Mining and Geology, Odisha; the Odisha State Pollution Control Board; and the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) were also asked to file their responses.
The NGT called for a fact-finding report and directed the constitution of a joint committee comprising one representative each from the district collector, Balasore; member secretary, SEIAA, Odisha; and member secretary, Odisha State Pollution Control Board. The committee was directed to visit the site and submit a factual and action-taken report.
The application stated that villagers had approached the authorities with their grievances on several occasions, but no stringent action had been taken against the sand mafia. As a result, villagers feared damage to the embankment and other problems, while the government was losing a significant amount of revenue.