Latest news with #WetlandRules
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt report biased, argue Ambazari residents, demand removal of Vivekanand statue
1 2 Nagpur: Petitioners in a PIL concerning the Ambazari flood disaster have challenged a report submitted by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune. They accused the report of legitimizing the unauthorized construction of Swami Vivekananda statue in the spill channel of Ambazari dam. In a new affidavit filed before the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, 91-year-old Ramgopal Bachuka and a group of senior citizens alleged that the CWPRS report was commissioned by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is under scrutiny for regulatory violations. The affidavit is part of a PIL seeking accountability for the flood on September 2023 that caused extensive damage. "The CWPRS study cannot override legislative provisions, including the Irrigation Act and Wetland Rules, under which the statue's location is in a prohibited area," petitioners argued through counsel Tushar Mandlekar. "The report is designed to justify an illegal structure rather than evaluate the flood dynamics accurately." They objected to the minutes of the High Power Committee (HPC) meeting held on April 29, which accepted the CWPRS report and declined to consider relocating the statue. The HPC, they contended, failed to address key concerns, including prior affidavits by departments such as irrigation and urban development, which acknowledged the illegality of the site. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like It's Affordable and Actually Works Undo The petitioners also noted that the CWPRS admitted to discrepancies in its data sets but proceeded to prepare simulations using a peak flood discharge of only 116.10 cumecs — the design standard for a 1-in-100-year flood. In contrast, the Ambazari dam is built to handle a discharge of 320 cumecs, or a 1-in-1,000-year event, according to the National Institute of Hydrology. They alleged that the statue and associated amenities — including a pedestal, library, and public seating — obstruct the dam's tail channel, reducing water-carrying capacity and creating a bottleneck that contributed to flooding in the city. Citing a 2024 affidavit from the principal secretary of the urban development department, the petitioners reiterated that the statue lies in a zone where development is restricted by govt resolutions issued on August 2, 2013 and March 8, 2018. They also submitted reports from Hitbhav Engineers, and the Command Area Development Authority, which showed the tail channel's width had been reduced due to construction, aggravating flood risks at the confluence of the Nag and Pili rivers. The petitioners have urged the court to reject the CWPRS report and direct authorities to restore the Nag River's natural flow by removing obstructions. The next hearing is scheduled for July 9. BOX Challenge To CWPRS Ambazari Flood Study #Core Arguments: CWPRS flood study termed a 'sham report' Petitioners say it was influenced by NMC HPC meeting failed to consider statutory violations #Technical Disputes: Dam discharge capacity: 320 cumecs CWPRS simulation: 116 cumecs Tail channel narrowed by statue platform, creating bottleneck #Legal Grounds: 2013 & 2018 GRs prohibit any construction at site Principal secretary's 2024 affidavit admits location is a 'prohibited area' #Demand: Court must reject report and restore Nag River's natural flow
Time of India
25-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Environmentalists seek stay on Jayakwadi solar project pending SC decision on wetland rules
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Environmentalists have sought a stay on the forthcoming floating solar power project at the Jayakwadi dam pending clearance of wetland conservation rules by the Supreme Court . Yash Netke, an environmentalist from Nagpur, addressed a letter to the irrigation department and other authorities, saying that the Jayakwadi dam qualifies as a wetland according to the National Wetland Inventory Atlas mapped by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). Netke said several significant petitions concerning wetland protection and encroachment are pending before the Apex Court. "Any project affecting wetlands must comply with judicial mandates, and it will be premature to go ahead with the floating solar project at the Jayakwadi sam until the verdict in these matters, including possible framing of wetland protection rules, is out," he said. Netke added the Supreme Court, in a ruling dated Dec 11 2024, in one of the cases, mandated the formation of a wetland committee by states to conduct ground truthing and reiterated that the list of wetland inventories as per Isro mapping should receive protection under the wetland rules. On April 1, the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) approved the solar project at Jayakwadi, which also hosts a bird sanctuary. According to SBWL meeting minutes, the project includes high-density polyethylene floats, photovoltaic panels, and an anchoring mechanism using concrete blocks, among other components. "Given that these installations are permanent, especially concrete anchoring in the reservoir, and that solar projects fall under industrial activity, the project proponents must seek explicit permission from the Supreme Court, considering ongoing wetland litigations. Authorities must comply with the Wetland Rules, 2017, which prohibit such interventions of a permanent nature in the major wetland in the form of the Jayakwadi dam," Netke said. Kishor Pathak, the honorary wildlife warden for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said state and central govts are advocating for the solar plant at Jayakwadi at the expense of the notified wetland. "Marathwada has ample land available at different places where the solar project can be raised. It will be a blatant and brazen violation of different govt laws if the project takes shape at the wetland and bird sanctuary at the Jayakwadi dam," he said. Recently, the fishermen community waged an unsuccessful battle in the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court against the proposed solar plant. Fishermen fear the loss of their livelihood as they oppose the project.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
PIL to save Mumbai wetland: High court issues notice to BMC but does not stay landfilling
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday issued a notice to the BMC on a PIL that challenged the permission it had granted for landfilling a wetland plot at village Pahadi Goregaon in Oshiwara, Andheri (W). It, though, rejected a request for a stay on further landfilling. "We have taken cognisance of the issue because it's a genuine issue. We will do whatever is possible. Don't doubt our powers to undo a thing which is done," said Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Makarand Karnik, adding that parties will have to be heard. The judges also issued notices to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Konkan Wetland Committee. Advocate Tushad Kakalia, representing petitioner-activist Zoru Bhathena, urged the court that pending the hearing, it "direct that no further filling is done". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo He said the plot "is a wetland and appears in the Wetland Atlas (of the central govt), a compendium of all wetlands across the country".Bhathena's petition, filed last year, stated that the low-lying plot is over 472 acres. In Nov 2023, BMC granted sanction to Beeline Impex Pvt Ltd and Pearl Coschem Pvt Ltd, who claim to be owners of a part of the land, for the "development of compound wall/fencing work and filling work". On a complaint about landfilling of the plot, Bhathena's search revealed that nearly 9.8 acres of land along the plot's perimeter and adjoining mangroves were previously filled to block the free flow of intertidal water into the plot "to fool satellite imagery to report a misleading high tide line". The plot is in coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, where development is prohibited, and is reflected in development plans of 1991 and 2034. Bhathena cited high court and Supreme Court orders that ban the reclamation of wetlands. In his reply, the director of the two companies denied that it is a low-lying plot affected by tidal waters or that it appears in the Wetland Atlas as an intertidal mud flat surrounded on all sides by mangroves. He said Bhathena is "trying to stall development on the subject land" by suggesting it is included in Wetland Rules and CRZ regulations.
