The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognizance of alleged encroachment of 100 acres of forest land in the Motu area of Malkangiri district, Odisha to establish a settlement named Islam Nagar.
The petition is registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item dated 30.09.2024.
As per the article, Islam Nagar has been built on forest land near National Highway 326, surrounded by dense forests along the Saberi riverbank.
The article alleges that the encroached land saw the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure, including the building of a mud road and wire fencing. The construction was allegedly funded through various government schemes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), with over ₹9 lakh spent on road construction. Furthermore, it is alleged that large ponds were excavated, warehouses built, and transformers installed, indicating extensive use of state resources.
The above news item indicated Bench violation of the provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The news item raises substantial issue relating to compliance of the environmental norms and implementation of the provisions of scheduled enactment.
“Power of the Tribunal to take up the matter in suo-motu exercise of power has been recognized by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of “Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs. Ankita Sinha & Ors.” reported in 2021 SCC Online SC 897.”
Hence, the Principal Bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel impleaded the following as respondents in the matter:
i. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF).
ii. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Odisha.
iii. District Magistrate (DM), Malkangiri .
The Bench issued notice to the Respondents.
Since the matter relates to the Eastern Zonal Bench, Kolkata, therefore, the Bench transferred the matter to the Eastern Zonal Bench for appropriate further action.Office is directed by the NGT to transfer the original record to the Eastern Zonal Bench and the matter is listed on 03.12.2024.
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