NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday, in its order, granted eight more weeks to the State of Bihar to comply with its earlier directions to demolish every unauthorised construction in the floodplains of the river Ganga in Patna, failing which the Chief Secretary and other authorities would be summoned.
The top court warned that it may proceed with contempt proceedings against the concerned officials in case of failure to comply with directions.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice J B Padiwala and Justice K V Viswanathan, stated that no further time shall be granted.
The bench also said that it restrained the authorities from proceeding further with any construction that is blocking the ecological flow of water.
A construction which the State intends to undertake may lead to shrinking of the river Yamuna channel in Vrindavan District, Mathura, State of Uttar Pradesh and shall not be proceeded further at any cost.
During the course of the hearing on Monday, when the matter was taken up, S D Sanjay, the Advocate General (AG), top law officer of the State of Bihar, has submitted that the directions issued by this Court have been partially complied with.
"There are many unauthorised structures/constructions yet to be removed from the flood plains. The recent natural calamity in Nepal, which led to the level of the river Ganga rising, has submerged this entire portion and made it difficult for the authorities to proceed further with the removal of the encroachments," Sanjay clarified to the court.
The bench granted liberty to intervenors to approach the concerned authorities with representations, attaching all documents of their title on the said land, including authorised sanctions/permissions and authorisation to raise constructions on the said lands.
In the absence of such permissions, no representation would be looked into by authorities, the apex court said and fixed the matter for further hearing on October 8.
On July 21, the bench had directed the State of Bihar to remove every illegal encroachment between Nauzar Ghaandto Nurpur Ghat in Patna, within six weeks and file a compliance report by September 23, 2026, after terming the menace of illegal constructions and encroachments on Ganga River and its tributaries as “a very serious issue”.
The court had passed the order while hearing a civil appeal filed by Ashok Kumar Sinha -- through his lawyer Akash Vashishtha -- a Patna resident, against an NGT (National Green Tribunal) order that had dismissed his original application.
Sinha, in his appeal, said that there was an alarmingly increasing number of illegal and unauthorised constructions and encroachments on the Floodplains of the River Ganga in gross contravention of the regulations imposed under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016 issued by the Ministry of Water Resources under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Vashishtha had argued before the court that, despite the alarming situation, the state authorities were not taking any action on it.