SC directs Rajasthan govt to demolish wetland encroachments in Ajmer
A bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka held that any encroachment on a wetland must go and shot down the argument by Rajasthan
Abraham Thomas
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Rajasthan government to demolish encroachments on a wetland forming part of a park near Anasagar lake in Ajmer within six months and observed that destruction of wetlands is invitation to disaster.
A bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka held that any encroachment on a wetland must go and shot down the argument by Rajasthan to save the illegal construction as demolishing it would result in a great loss to the public exchequer.
The top court said, “If states are allowed to destroy wetlands, we are inviting disaster. The intention of the government should be to restore wherever there is a wetland. Under any cost, wetlands have to be protected.”
The court was hearing an appeal filed by Rajasthan government that was asked to restore the Anasagar Lake in Ajmer as a wetland by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in December 2021 with a further direction in August 2023 to demolish any encroachment or construction in the ‘buffer area’ of the lake.
The state had objected to the NGT order by claiming that the site in question is not a declared wetland. Close to the lake, the state had planned recreational facilities including a “Seven Wonders Park” having replicas of the seven monuments from around the globe, a food court, pathways and markets in the vicinity. The development was made with a view to develop Ajmer as a smart city.
On Monday, the state chief secretary appeared online during the proceeding and even filed affidavit undertaking to remove the food court and the replicas in the Seven Wonders Park within six months.
The bench directed the state to remove the structures insides the park and clear the food court within the stipulated period of six months.
As an auditorium too had been constructed, which the state was keen to retain, the bench said, “Before considering other parts of the affidavit, if state wants to maintain the work done on wetlands, it should come out with a proposal to recreate wetland double the space in the state.”
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the state sought time to take instructions in this regard. For considering the state’s proposal, the matter was posted for hearing on April 7.
The bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, said, “On first principle, the state should never have constructed on wetland. In this way you can never be a smart city. If you (state) want some part of the encroachment to be saved, you propose to create double the wetland space in the state.”
Mehta proposed converting the concrete pathways into a green landscape as demolishing everything will cast a huge burden on the exchequer. Responding to this argument, the bench said, "We will not hear the argument from the state that wetlands are being encroached and to remove it now involves a huge cost to the exchequer,” the bench said.
The court did not wish to be party to the state’s plan to of its construction abutting wetland. “If anything is constructed on wetland it has to go. We thought the state will come out with a pragmatic stand,” it remarked.
The court said that the only order it was open to consider was to grant time for relocating or removing the encroachment. Mehta pointed out that a wall and a sidewalk constructed near the lake was meant to protect the waterbody from encroachment. But the court reasoned with the state that even the wall was constructed on the wetland and must go.
The bench cited the International Ramsar Convention to which India became party in February 1982. Since then, 89 wetlands covering an area of over 15 lakh hectares have been designated under the List of Wetlands of International Importance.
The NGT had in the past in December 2021 directed preservation of Anasagar lake – a man-made lake in existence since the 12th century. The order of the tribunal stated that the lake used to serve as a source of drinking water for Ajmer city, getting its water from a seasonal river called Luni, originating in the Aravalli range.
It was on a petition filed by Ashok Malik, the NGT issued orders for demolishing construction around the lake. The tribunal had even directed an inspection team to visit the site following which it came to light that the lake was getting polluted due to the untreated wastewater from the nearby colonies and shops. This further impacted the biodiversity of the lake and posed health hazards for the local community.
The petition before the tribunal said that with the construction of pathway along the lake boundary, various activities such as car workshops, marriage gardens, halls and restaurants had sprung up along the lake, despite the area being declared a ‘no-construction zone’ in 2014.
While examining the issue last month, the top court had observed, “We wonder how a city can become smart without protecting the water bodies/wetlands in the city and how cities will become smarter by making encroachments on the water bodies/wetlands.”
