SC stays NGT order on renovation of ponds in Braj region

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 1

Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, which had disallowed an NGO to carry on renovation work of ponds in the Braj area of the pilgrimage town of Goverdhan.

A Vacation Bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao passed the order on a petition filed by Braj Foundation against the NGT order.

The Bench also issued notice to the Centre and UP Government on the petition filed by the NGO, which said the ponds renovated by it faced demolition because of the May 24 NGT order.

The petition filed through Braj Foundation chairman Vineet Narain challenged the NGT order refusing it permission to continue the renovation work.

The NGT had said the renovation project should be taken up by the government and no private individual, organisation, NGO or any other body should undertake the work of preservation and restoration of water bodies.

Due to the NGT order, the local authorities had stayed the restoration work being undertaken by Braj Foundation at Sankarshan Kund in Anyor and Rudra Kund in Jatipura.

The top court’s order came after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted on behalf of the NGO that an order issued in public interest by the NGT cannot be an “anti-public order”. The NGT order will lead to demolition of the renovated ponds which was against the public interest, Singhvi said, adding “This is the wrong way of doing the right thing.”

The NGT had on August 4, 2015 declared the entire “Parikrama Marg” as a no-construction zone to avoid any encroachment and asked the civic bodies to construct a sewerage system along the holy area.

The tribunal’s order had come on the plea filed by NGO Braj Foundation seeking clarification of August 4, 2015 order which declared the entire “Parikrama Marg” as no-construction zone to avoid any encroachment and asked the civic bodies to construct a sewerage system along the area.

The green panel had earlier ordered the Mathura district magistrate to conduct an inquiry into how two former village heads had awarded renovation work of the ponds without following legal procedures in the pilgrimage town.

It had said that neither any meeting nor any resolution was passed to renovate the Sankarshan Kund in Anyor and Rudra Kund in Jatipura.

The tribunal had passed its earlier order on a plea filed by Mathura-based Giriraj Parikrama Sanrakshan Sansthan and others seeking compliance of the August 4, 2015 directions of the NGT.

Civic authorities allegedly discharged sewage and municipal waste into the ponds and other water bodies in Govardhan.