NGT forms committee for Chandlai Lake pollution

Jaipur: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought a factual report from the state government regarding the rising pollution and encroachment around Chandlai Lake, located a short distance from the capital. Hearing a petition, the Tribunal formed a committee of officials.

Following directives from the Central Zone Bench of the Tribunal in Bhopal, officers from the environment department, water resources department, revenue department, Pollution Control Board, Rajasthan Wetland Authority and central and state pollution control boards assessed the situation. They examined encroachments in the area and identified dyeing and printing units that are illegally discharging industrial waste into the lake’s flow area. The NGT is scheduled to hold the next hearing on this matter on Nov 8, by which time the govt departments have to submit a factual report.

The case, Devi Lal Khatri vs. Rajasthan State and others, was heard by the NGT on July 27. The petition claims that the catchment area of Chandlai Lake is being encroached upon, industrial waste is being dumped directly into the lake without treatment and the population of migratory birds visiting the lake is rapidly declining due to increasing pollution and encroachment. The Rajasthan Lake Conservation and Development Authority Act is applicable in state, allowing the authority to remove any structures within lake’s protected and flow areas.

A notification for the conservation of Chandlai was issued by State Wetland Authority on Aug 31, 2023. In a meeting on Sept 8, 2023, it was decided that encroachments would be regularly removed; however, pollution and encroachment continue to persist.