CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the State Government to form a joint committee to probe into the allegations of ongoing construction of concrete structures on Mahanadi riverbed at Ratilo under Kishannagar tehsil in the district.
The Principal Bench (New Delhi) of Justice SP Wangdi (Judicial Member) and Siddhanta Das (Expert Member) on Monday said, “We direct constitution of a committee comprising the Secretary of Water Resource department, Cuttack Collector and representative of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to jointly inspect the area in question, verify factual aspects and submit a report before the next date.”
“The Collector shall be the nodal agency for providing logistic support and coordination. Action taken report in this regard may also be filed along with the report,” the Bench said in its order. The Tribunal directed for listing of the case on April 16.
According to the order, the alleged ongoing concrete structures under construction included Panchamukhi Hanuman temple, threshing ground, proposed structures such as toilet, graveyard, market complex, kalyan mandap and other activities will adversely affect the river ecology and disturb the river flow.
The direction came when the green panel was hearing a plea moved by advocate Sankar Prasad Pani on behalf of Dilip Kumar Samantaray, a resident of Bhubaneswar.
The construction of concrete structures has continued despite a stop-work order by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Cuttack, the plea alleged.