NGT directs Suav’s status be changed from ‘nullah’ to ‘river’ in official records
Orders publication of correction in gazette and local newspapers
Bars new construction in demarcated floodplain zones
Calls for monitoring of STPs and industrial effluents
Warns non-compliance is punishable under NGT Act
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to correct official records and restore the Suav’s status from a “drain” to a “river” in the revenue records and gazetteer, warning that failure to comply could attract punishment under the law.
The order follows a petition challenging the classification of the Suav — a major tributary of the Rapti river in Balrampur district — as a nullah (drain). Environmentalists argued that treating rivers as drains in official documents risks erasing their ecological and historical identity for future generations.
The NGT directed the Balrampur district magistrate to correct the classification of ‘Suav’ from ‘nullah’ to ‘river’ in district revenue records within three months of receiving the order and to notify the change in the Official Gazette and local newspapers in compliance with its order.
The district magistrates of Balrampur and Siddharthnagar were directed to ensure that no new construction or infrastructure is permitted in the demarcated Flood Plain Zone until the identification and demarcation of the Active Flood Zone is completed.
The bench, led by NGT Chairman Justice Prakash Srivastava, passed the order after considering a letter petition dated April 20, 2022 by Pateshwari Prasad Singh, chairman of the environment, forest and wildlife conservation committee of Balrampur district. The petition was treated under the tribunal’s suo motu jurisdiction, citing the Supreme Court judgment in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs Ankita Sinha and others.
Petitioners referred to a 1906 publication Gonda: A Gazetteer, which described the Suav (then referred to as Suwawan) as a significant tributary of the Rapti River. The Gazetteer noted that while several seasonal channels joined the Rapti, the only tributaries of significance were the Burhi Rapti on its northern bank and the Suav on its southern bank. “The Gazetteer says that the River Suav becomes a river of considerable proportion before its joining in river Rapti near Rasoolabad in Utaraula pargana,” the petition stated.
The Suav River plays a vital role in controlling and mitigating floods generated by the Rapti River during the monsoon. It fills dozens of wetlands, lakes and ponds along its roughly 120 kilometre course before joining the Rapti, itself a tributary of the Ganges. Petitioners argued that its conservation and restoration are crucial for regional environmental stability.
The plea described how Balrampur, formerly part of Gonda district, once had four rivers — the Rapti, Suav, Kuana and Besuhi. With the formulation and implementation of forest and agricultural development policies, reclamation of land for agriculture, settlement expansion and encroachments in the catchment and floodplain areas, the Suav gradually came to be treated as a drain.
“Further encroachment is being made by construction of sewage treatment plant (STP) and community centre, which may lead to serious environmental degradation and stoppage of such construction may be ordered,” the order stated.
The petitioner has further alleged that the government is now reinforcing this transformation by constructing the STP and a community hall on the riverbed, and by filling adjoining drains.
The plea stated that such construction must be halted as it poses serious environmental risks and threatens the lives and safety of residents of Balrampur and Bhagwatiganj. It also cites judicial precedents — including the case relating to dumping waste into the Nala Rani River in Rajasthan — where courts have intervened to stop environmentally harmful construction activities.
“This dam has withstood severe floods on several occasions and has saved Balrampur city from submergence multiple times. Now, that very stream (nala) is being converted into a drainage system (sewer) by the government, and two other drains are being filled in to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant and a Community Hall. It is extremely important to stop this work. This project poses a serious threat to the environment and is a grave risk to the lives of the residents of Balrampur, especially those living in Bhagwatiganj…,” the petition said.
The NGT directed the District Ganga Committees (DGC) of Balrampur and Siddharthnagar to adopt and replicate the Sant Seechewal model, ensuring people’s participation in restoring the Suav’s ecology and ecosystem.
“The District Ganga Committees, Balrampur and Siddharthnagar are directed to adopt above said Sant Seechewal's model and replicate the same by ensuring peoples participation for Rejuvenation of the Suav River's ecology and ecosystems with emphasis on People's Participation,” the order stated.
The tribunal also directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to regularly monitor water quality in the Suav, including treated sewage from STPs and effluents from industries such as Balrampur Sugar Mill and Bajaj Sugar Mill. “For this, it should collect samples from time to time and get them analysed and take appropriate remedial action in case of any environmental violation,” the order said.
The NGT further instructed the principal secretary of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department to ensure identification and demarcation of active floodplains within six months, in line with flood zoning guidelines issued by the Central Water Commission and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in July 2025, as well as the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management Authorities) Order, 2016.
The DGCs were also directed to review revenue records to determine whether land previously recorded as water or wetland areas in rural catchments had been converted into agricultural land. If such changes were found to be unauthorised, they must be rectified and the land re-registered as water or wetland area, the order said.
The bench warned that non-compliance with its order would constitute an offence under Section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. It added that its order is executable as a civil court decree under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which allows for enforcement measures including arrest and detention of judgment debtors in accordance with the law.
The NGT also directed the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to review proposals related to STPs and Suav river rejuvenation submitted by the Uttar Pradesh government. Nodal officers from the state’s Urban Development Department and the District Ganga Committees are to coordinate with the NMCG on these proposals.