The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 17, 2025 directed the Wetland Authority of Uttar Pradesh and the district magistrate of Amroha to ensure that the waterbody at Gata (property identification) numbers 403 and 404 is restored to its original state.
To safeguard the interests of students, if any, studying at the four educational institutions set up by the respondents — Rashida Begum Muslim Vidyalaya, Mesco Public School and Mesco Institute of Pharmacy — on the land of the waterbody, the court granted a one-year period for relocating the infrastructure to a suitable location.
The NGT noted that constructions had encroached upon the waterbody, leading to its destruction, and ruled that such an action could not be legitimised by the court.
The case pertains to the preservation, protection, and conservation of waterbodies. The applicant, Syed Ashhar Tauseef, alleged that Kamal Faruqui used his influence to acquire land on Gata 403 and 404 to establish the four educational institutions.
Further allegations stated that Gata 403 and 404 are talabs (ponds) and have been recorded as such in the revenue records of the 1359 Fasli year. It was also alleged that the institutions obtained recognition in 2018 based on a fabricated document from the Municipal Council, Amroha.
A report by the district magistrate (joint committee) stated that Gata No. 311 was previously renumbered as Gata Nos. 403-404 and that, in the 1359 Fasli Khasra year, this Gata was registered as a pond. The report further revealed that Rashida Begum Muslim Vidyalaya occupies an area of 812.60 sq. m in Gata 403, while Mesco Public School is built on 222 sq. m in Gata 404, and Mesco Institute of Pharmacy covers 709.40 sq. m in Gata 404. The remaining land of Gata 403 and 404 is being used as a playground by these institutions.
The report clearly stated that the nature of the pond could not be altered, leading to the cancellation of the sanctioned map for Mesco Public School on March 7, 2024. Additionally, the land ownership certificate dated January 24, 2018 was found to have not been issued by the Office of the Municipal Council, Amroha, and the matter regarding the institutions’ affiliation with the Central Middles Education Board, Dehradun, remains pending.
The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) submitted a reply dated May 10, 2024, disclosing that an inspection was conducted by its regional office in Bijnor. The inspection note revealed that Mesco Institute of Nursing and Para-Medical Science was not found to be operational.
The responses from the district magistrate, the four-member joint committee, the UPPCB, and the regional office of UPPCB in Bijnor consistently affirmed that Gata numbers 403-404 (formerly Gata No. 311) are registered as ponds in the revenue records. However, buildings have been constructed on the waterbody, and the remaining area is being used as a playground by these educational institutions.
This clearly means the “entire waterbody has been filled up and buildings constructed thereon are being used as educational institutes. Such an action is impermissible in law,” the NGT said.
Considering the environmental significance of the waterbody and the local geographical context, the NGT ruled that the waterbody previously existing on Gata 403 and 404 must be restored to its original state.
The respondents—Rashida Begum Muslim Vidyalaya, Mesco Public School, and Mesco Institute of Pharmacy—argued that they would create another waterbody on adjoining land available to them. However, the NGT rejected this plea, stating, “a natural water body created on account of existing topography and distinctive ecological and hydrological features cannot be replaced by an artificially created water body at a different location which may not have such recharge channels and sustainability”.
“Such artificially created waterbodies have been expressly excluded from the definition of ‘Wetland’ given under Section 2(g) of the Wetland Rules, 2017,” the order, passed by the bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Sudhir Agarwal, stated.
The eastern bench of the NGT, February 17, 2025 directed the Bihar State Pollution Control Board to submit an action-taken report on whether debris from an under-construction bridge has impacted the dolphin population in the Ganga River at Sultanganj, Aguani Ghat, Bhagalpur district.
The collapse of the bridge has endangered aquatic life, particularly dolphins. The application submitted to the NGT stated that a large quantity of muck had been dumped into the Ganga River due to the disaster, causing severe harm to the dolphins.
An affidavit filed by the District Magistrate of Bhagalpur included an inspection report from a field visit conducted on December 11, 2024. The report stated that there was no short-term impact of the bridge collapse on the dolphin population. However, the court noted that the issue was not limited to the threat posed to dolphins but also concerned the removal of debris, which had indisputably fallen into the river as a result of the collapse.
The court pointed out that the inspection report was silent on the removal of debris or the quantification of the amount that had entered the river. It stressed that quantifying the debris should not be difficult and that the Bihar State Pollution Control Board and the Bihar government could obtain a report from the Engineering Department of the Bihar State Bridge Corporation.
The inspection report also referenced a survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) after the collapse of the under-construction bridge, which recorded dolphin sightings within 200-500 metres of the collapse site in July 2024. While their presence indicated some resilience, the report noted that “behaviour and movement patterns may have been affected by the debris and construction activities”.