Kukudakhandi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the District Magistrate of Ganjam to remove the panchayat complex building constructed on a common village pond at Kukudakhandi tehsil by November 30 and take steps for the restoration of the water body.
A bench of Judicial Member B Amit Sthalekar and Expert Member Saibal Dasgupta referred to the Supreme Court judgment in Hinch Lal Tiwari (supra) wherein the SC had said that encroachment of water bodies is not permissible and all such encroachments and constructions must be removed.
Moreover, the water bodies must be restored to their original character.
The tribunal rejected the submission of the counsel appearing for the district magistrate that the Gram Panchayat Building Complex has been constructed for the benefit of the villagers of the gram panchayat, the population of which is between 4,000 and 15,000.
“Construction of a Gram Panchayat Building Complex on jalasaya land has the effect of destroying the water body or even a part thereof can hardly be said to be in the larger interest of the villagers accessing the said water body,” the tribunal said.
PNN
