NGT directs MoEF to submit report on River Regulation Zone

Noting that unhindered construction on river floodplains has resulted in severe floods in various parts of the country, the National Green Tribunal today took strong exception to undue delay in filing of a draft report on the River Regulation Zone and directed the Ministry of Environment to submit the report by October 3.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar expressed displeasure that despite its 2013 direction the Environment Ministry was sitting over the report since last three years.

"For the last three years you (MoEF) have done nothing. We had directed MoEF to submit report prepared by the Expert Group on River Regulation in 2013. We direct MoEF to file this Report before the tribunal positively before the next date of hearing," the bench also comprising Justice M S Nambiar said while warning that in the event of default it would summon its top officials.
 

During the hearing the lawyer appearing for MoEF said it has already sent the draft report on river regulation zones to states and the Ministry was awaiting their response.

The NGT was hearing a plea filed by environmentalist Akash Vashishtha claiming construction of concrete farmhouses, plots, colonies and commercial set-ups in river-bed area damages the natural environment and is a grave hazard to well-being of humans and violates the Environment Protection Act 1986.

Apart from obstructing the natural course of two rivers, the construction also exert massive stress on the river ecosystem due to discharge of huge amounts of waste into them, he had said.

The River Regulation Zone is a central policy for the protection of rivers and their floodplains on the lines of the Coastal Regulation Zone.

The Environment Ministry in February had come out with a blueprint for river regulation zones where it proposes to prohibit or regulate developmental activities on river fronts and floodplains. The proposed river regulation zones will be under the ambit of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The draft notification, which the Ministry had sent to states for perusal, seeks to declare river stretches and floodplain zones as river conservation zones and prohibit certain activities in those zones.