The Central Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a Rs 20,000 penalty on the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its persistent failure to comply with judicial directives in the ongoing Bhoj Wetland encroachment case. The order was issued during a hearing on July 9 by a bench comprising Judicial Member Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi. According to petitioner Rashid Noor Khan, the tribunal resorted to punitive action after the civic body consistently ignored previous warnings and failed to submit its reply. Advocate Harshwardhan Tiwari, representing petitioner and environmentalist Rashid Noor Khan, informed the tribunal that the BMC had ignored five consecutive directives to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR). The petition alleges critical environmental violations within the protected Bhoj Wetland, a Ramsar-listed site of international importance.

 

These violations include widespread illegal encroachments, unauthorised permanent constructions, indiscriminate waste dumping, illegal land-filling, and the disruption of natural water inlets, all of which directly violate the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The slow pace of administrative action is highlighted by the performance of a district-level task force, which was formed following a high-level meeting chaired by Bhopal Member of Parliament Alok Sharma. Tasked with identifying and removing illegal structures within 50 meters of the Full Tank Level (FTL) around the Upper Lake, the task force identified 347 illegal properties during a demarcation drive launched on February 25. However, official records reveal that only 57 structures, including three permanent houses, have been demolished, leaving 290 illegal encroachments standing. Petitioner Rashid Noor Khan expressed deep concern over the ongoing ecological degradation, alleging that the BMC is selectively shielding certain violators by using a legal loophole that protects structures built prior to March 16, 2022.