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Deepor Beel in Guwahati has shrunk from 40 sq km to less than half due to illegal dumping and encroachment, harming over 200 bird species.
NGT directs CPCB and Assam authorities to respond by August 25; Boragaon landfill flagged as major polluter.
Illegal road construction in Papum Pare, Arunachal, contaminating water sources and damaging forests; NGT seeks replies in four weeks.
120,000 households in Melur taluk, Tamil Nadu, reportedly supplied untreated water after pipeline leak; NGT registers case suo motu.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Eastern Zone Bench, on July 21, 2025, directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Pollution Control Board Assam, Assam State Wetlands Authority and the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup district to submit their counter-affidavits on environmental violations threatening Deepor Beel in Guwahati. The deadline is four weeks, with the next hearing scheduled for August 25, 2025.
As reported by The Assam Tribune on April 22, 2025, Deepor Beel has reduced from 40 square kilometres to less than half its original size due to illegal settlements, unregulated waste dumping and the unchecked spread of dumping grounds. This degradation has led to a drastic fall in bird populations — including Spot-billed Pelicans, Lesser Adjutant Storks and the endangered Greater Adjutant — alongside water pollution and a collapse in fish diversity. Areas surrounding the beel that were dry during periods of high rainfall are now submerged in water for days, according to the news report.
Local residents say the nearby Boragaon landfill continues to discharge waste into the wetland, despite previous court orders.
The NGT has sought responses from Arunachal Pradesh authorities over illegal road construction in fragile catchment zones in Papum Pare district. The tribunal, on July 21, 2025 , directed the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, Shillong regional office of Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the district magistrate and the principal chief conservator of forests to file their replies within four weeks.
The case stems from an Arunachal Times article dated April 22, 2025, which reported unauthorised earth-cutting and road-building between Ganga-Taipu and Ganga-Tago. These activities have reportedly contaminated water sources and degraded forest land, forcing residents to consume muddy, unsafe water and exposing them to health risks.
The ecological balance of the area is seriously threatened by this unchecked development, which has already clearly harmed the forest areas.
Despite repeated complaints, including to the Range Forest Officer, no action has been taken, the article noted.
The NGT’s southern zone bench on July 22, 2025 took suo motu cognisance of a New Indian Express article from July 13, 2025, reporting that untreated water was being supplied to multiple villages in Melur taluk, Madurai district.
The issue reportedly stemmed from a pipeline breach in the Cauvery Combined Drinking Water Supply Scheme near Manur, according to the article titled Untreated water supplied to villages in Melur Taluk for past week: Residents.
Around 120,000 residents across villages, including Thiruvadavur, Kottampatti, Therkkutheru and Idyarpatti were said to have received unfiltered and unchlorinated water from borewells by the local Panchayat.
The court noted possible violations under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Notices were issued to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, CPCB and the Madurai District Collector.