NGT orders fresh report on sources polluting Dal Lake; CPCB to collect water samples from multiple locations.
Tribunal directs MoEFCC and Botanical Survey of India to submit updated reports on endangered Neelakurinji within six weeks.
District Magistrate, Saharanpur warned of personal liability for illegal construction on a village waterbody despite earlier tribunal orders.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on October 27, 2025, directed a joint committee to file a fresh report on the sources polluting Dal Lake. The panel was originally constituted under its order dated August 21, 2024.
The report must include details such as the number of drains or channels discharging untreated sewage into the lake, houseboats releasing sewage, unauthorised constructions, and commercial establishments in the lake’s periphery contributing to pollution. The joint committee has also been tasked with identifying persons or entities responsible for contaminating the lake and determining the original area of Dal Lake as per old revenue records compared with its present extent.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been instructed to collect samples from at least five locations each at the lake’s inlets and outlets, as well as from other pollution-affected areas, and to submit the analysis report.
The tribunal directed the committee to complete the exercise within eight weeks, with the report to be submitted immediately thereafter. The next hearing has been scheduled for January 28, 2026.
The suo motu application concerns the deteriorating condition of Dal Lake due to municipal sewage, pollution, urbanisation, and other human activities. The NGT had earlier, on August 21, 2024, ordered the formation of a six-member joint committee to ensure that untreated sewage and other pollutants are prevented from entering the lake.
However, the tribunal noted that despite the committee’s report filed on September 30, 2025, its directions had not been fully complied with. The NGT also cited observations from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the CPCB that many houses in Nayadyar, Jogilankar, and Saidakadal discharge sewage through PVC pipes into water channels leading to the lake, while hamlets within the lake are also releasing sewage and waste.
The NGT on October 27, 2025, directed the Botanical Survey of India and the MoEFCC to place on record communications and reports concerning the endangered Neelakurinji shrub (Strobilanthes kunthiana) within six weeks.
Counsel for both institutions informed the tribunal that the National Biodiversity Authority had received reports from the Tamil Nadu and Kerala State Biodiversity Boards based on field surveys.
The NGT noted that the director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Kerala, had failed to appear at the July 21, 2025, hearing and again did not respond to a subsequent notice. The tribunal has now ordered the director to appear virtually on January 22, 2026.
The suo motu application, based on an article in the newspaper The Hindu dated August 10, 2024, titled Neelakurinji becomes a ‘threatened species’, officially, concerns threats to the Neelakurinji, which flowers once every 12 years.
A joint reply submitted on July 15, 2025, by the Botanical Survey of India and MoEFCC acknowledged that classifying the plant as vulnerable was justified based on population reduction. However, they disputed the estimated rate of decline and requested a revisit and reassessment of sites to obtain accurate data.
The report noted that Strobilanthes kunthiana occurs in more than 34 locations, including revenue lands, and has been recently found at lower altitudes (around 1,100 metres). The population decline was attributed to anthropogenic pressures.
It further stated that, under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, proposals to declare a species as threatened must originate from state governments and be validated by the MoEFCC. No such proposal regarding the Neelakurinji has yet been received. The tribunal was informed that a fresh survey and reassessment are needed to obtain accurate scientific data on the species’ reduction.
On October 27, 2025, the NGT warned the district magistrate of Saharanpur that any illegal construction on the waterbody in village Nanauta, tehsil Rampur Maniharan, in contravention of the tribunal’s order dated September 16, 2025, would make the authority personally responsible for violating the court’s directions.
The magistrate’s counsel sought additional time to submit a new report.
The application alleged non-compliance with the NGT’s September 16, 2025, order, which had directed the district magistrate to ensure that no illegal construction or dumping of soil or sand took place on the pond. The applicant pointed out that despite the order, encroachments, including the construction of shops, were continuing on the waterbody.
The tribunal reiterated that any further violation would invite personal accountability.