The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought a response from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, along with other respondents, regarding a petition that alleges “mindless” concretization of roadsides and construction in parks in Ghaziabad.
The NGT was addressing a plea that claims “vast-scale, mindless, and indiscriminate concretization or paving” is a major cause of water-logging, urban flooding, and loss of biodiversity in cities and towns.
A bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and Expert Member A Senthil Vel noted that the plea raises a “substantial issue relating to compliance with environmental norms.”
The bench issued notices to the respondents and scheduled the matter for further proceedings on October 21, 2024.
The respondents in the case include the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam, and others.
The petition, filed by advocate Akash Vashishtha, asserts that such concretization and construction in green spaces violate environmental rules, government guidelines, tribunal orders, and verdicts.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, representing the petitioner, highlighted that the problem of concretization and complete paving of soft open areas, roadsides, road berms, and constructions inside parks has become a significant hazard for cities and towns.
“Innocent lives are lost due to flooding of basements in Delhi, and lawyers’ offices are inundated in Delhi as a result of the concretization of open soft areas,” he said.
