NGT raps UP chief secy on encroachments in G'bad green belts

The National Green Tribunal has rapped the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary over non-compliance of its order on illegal encroachments in the green belts in Ghaziabad area of the National Capital Region (NCR).
A bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim said the officer has shown contemptuous conduct by not filing the status report till date on unauthorised constructions despite its direction and ordered him to file a final report within a week.
"We notice our order dated September 5, 2016 by which chief secretary of state of UP was directed to file compliance report to our directions as indicated in the said order.

"We note with regret that the chief secretary has shown disdainful conduct by failing to comply with the said order and no status report is filed till date. We, therefore, direct that the report shall be filed in the Registry of this tribunal within one week," the bench said while warning him that "if this order is not complied, the chief secretary shall be present personally before the tribunal to explain the lapse".
It also directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority to file a status report about illegal encroachments in the green belt and inform it as to what extent the encroachments have been removed and what action has been taken in this regard.

The matter has been listed for next hearing on February 9.

The green panel's notice came in the wake of a plea filed by Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity (SPENBIO) and Ghaziabad resident Sushil Raghav seeking demolition of unauthorised and illegal structures located on green belts in the city.
The plea claimed that as per the Master Plan 2021 of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) about 2,484 hectares out of 15,554 hectares (15.97 per cent) of the total area covered under the Master Plan was earmarked as green, but due to GDA's "inaction", the green cover was getting reduced day after day.

"Most of the green belts under the Master Plan 2021 of GDA are lying encroached with illegal constructions scattered across such green belts and hazardous municipal wastes dumped there," the plea said.
"GDA is constructing a recreation City Club in the green belt in Sector-8, Raj Nagar, which is also an extension of the Central Park situated along ALT Centre road (erstwhile Rani Jhansi Marg).
"The same was reserved as a green belt by the Improvement Trust Ghaziabad during the development of Raj Nagar colony after acquiring the land of Raheespur and Jatwara Kalan villages under various provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 from 1962 to 1980," it has said.