Can The East Kolkata Wetlands Be Saved? - Conserving The Wetlands From Encroachment

With the rise of illegal landfills, expansion of real-estate projects, land encroachment and alteration, the ecosystem of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) is under serious threat. Dr Rina Mukherji discusses the pressing need to have laws, policies, and remedies in place to combat the alarming effects of urbanization and land-use patterns towards the conservation of EKW.

- Dr Rina Mukherji

On December 18, 2019, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the formation of a Task Force under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to monitor remedial measures to stop further degradation of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). The NGT move followed an order passed in May 2019, in response to a legal suit filed by activist Subhas Datta, which had set up an expert committee comprising senior scientists from the state and union governments, and the district magistrates of the North and South 24 Parganas districts to look into the complaints of encroachment on the EKW by illegal plastic processing and recycling units, and suggest recommendations. The Order had also directed a fence to be set up around Mollar Bheri, which was being (wrongly) used to dump solid waste by the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.

Earlier, the NGT had also upheld a landmark judgment passed by its Eastern Bench regarding illegal construction in the EKW, which was in response to a legal suit filed by the NGO People United for Better Living in Kolkata (PUBLIC). The onus of demolition of the concerned structures – which comprised a building constructed by the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and a road around Munshir Bheri by the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority – was passed on to the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA) that failed to comply inviting penalties of ₹50 lakh each from the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan Trust and Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority. Interestingly, this came after the order of demolition issued by the NGT’s Eastern Bench, the previous year, had remained infructuous.