NGT orders PCMC to demolish 29 bungalows constructed in blue line area of Indrayani River
The court also levied a penalty of ₹5 crore on the bungalow owners as a cost of environmental damage
In a benchmark judgment, the Western Zonal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), on Monday, ordered Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to demolish 29 bungalows within survey number 90, spread in the blue line area of the Indrayni River within the next six months.
The court also levied a penalty of ₹5 crore on the bungalow owners as a cost of environmental damage.
The bench also asked the civic body to submit a compliance report within a month after the expiry of the mentioned period.
A case was registered with the NGT in 2020 regarding environmental violations, land use conversions, and the responsibility for environmental damage.
NGT western zonal bench comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, judicial member, and Vijay Kulkarni, expert Member issued the order.
Advocate Aniruddha Kulkarni, standing counsel for the environment and climate change department, Government of Maharashtra; Manasi Joshi, Advocate for MPCB; Shivshankar Swaminathan, Advocate for PCMC; Supriya Dangare, Advocate for water resources department, were present during the hearing.
“This is a benchmark judgment given by the NGT. So far, the state environment department has not provided permission for any construction in the blue line or red line area of the river,” said Adv Kulkarni.
Shekhar Singh, commissioner, PCMC, said, “NGT has given us a time frame and the procedure needs to be followed accordingly. We will be doing that as per the current NGT order, however, if the applicant goes to appeal to another court, then we have to follow the order as per the applied court.”
“The implementation of this order is going to be challenging and we are expecting opposition from the people living in that area, however, the corporation has to follow the orders issued by the NGT,” he added.
“We haven’t received the notice yet, further action will be taken after we receive the notice,” said Sanjay Kulkarni, environment officer, PCMC.