Illegal construction activities along Vishwamitri in violation of NGT award

Several of Vadodora’s concerned citizens* have shot a letter to the Union minister for environment, forests and climate change, as also to senior Government of India and Gujarat officials, asking them to directly intervene with the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) to immediately stop all illegal debris dumping, construction, and any other such damaging activities in and around Vishwamitri river, especially at the Kala Ghoda Bridge, within Vadodara city. They have said, VMC’s activities are in violation of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Interim Order dated May 25, 2017, as also the direction by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority dated August 9, 2016, the Gujarat High Court hudgement dated August 2, 2002. Text of the letter:

This is with respect to the ongoing, illegal, and damaging activities in and around the Vishwamitri River that is being done in violation of the Interim Order dated 25.05.2017 passed by the Hon’ble National Green Tribunal (Western Bench) in Application 49 of 2016 (Rohit Prajapati and Anr V/s Secretary MoEFCC & Ors); direction by the No. SEIAA/GuJ/General/512/2016 dated 09.08.2016 passed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Gujarat passed in the Withdrawal Application for VRDP Project No. SIA/GJ/NCP/4584/2015 dated 05/08/2016 of Vadodara Municipal Corporation; Gujarat High Court Judgement dated 2 August, 2002 in SCA No. 10621 of 2000 (Shailesh Shah V/s State of Gujarat); The Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; and other Environmental laws. In this regard, the following communication has already taken place with the concerned authorities:

WhattsApp Communication with the Municipal Commissioner of Vadodara Municipal Corporation dated 22.12.2017.
Letter dated 25.12.2017 to all concerned authorities.
Letter dated 03.01.2018 to the Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara Municipal Corporation.

It is amply evident that the Vadodara Municipal Corporation has knowingly and deliberately violated the Interim Order dated 25.05.2016 passed by the Hon’ble National Green Tribunal (Western Bench) in Application 49 of 2016 (Rohit Prajapati and Anr V/s Secretary MoEFCC & Ors); direction by the No. SEIAA/GuJ/General/512/2016 dated 09.08.2016 passed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Gujarat passed in the Withdrawal Application for VRDP Project No. SIA/GJ/NCP/4584/2015 dated 05/08/2016 of Vadodara Municipal Corporation; Gujarat High Court Judgement dated 2 August, 2002 in SCA No. 10621 of 2000 (Shailesh Shah V/s State of Gujarat); The Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972; and other Environmental laws.
Already major irreversible damage has been done to the Vishwamitri River and is still continuing despite repeated requests and meetings with them. We are attaching relevant photographs taken on 04.01.2018 in this letter. The current work, on the pretext of the bridge, is destroying the habitats of the crocodile currently during its breeding season, other Schedule I species, and the river ecosystem as a whole. Damage is also being done to the heritage structures (Ghats) as well, at the Kala Ghoda Bridge, very much in the channel of and along the Vishwamitri River.
All the concerned authorities have kept silent on this issue and also to our letter dated 25.12.2017.
We request all the concerned authorities to immediately direct the Vadodara Municipal Corporation to stop all illegal activity at the Kala Ghoda Bridge and also all other activities in and along the Vishwamitri River and the riverine environment as a whole.
We urge the concerned authorities to prosecute any / all concerned departments / authorities / parties that are engaged in the above stated illegal activities.
Not doing so is in violation of the Environment laws, applicable interim orders, legal directions, and judgments. All concerned authorities, departments, and parties may have to face legal action.
We look forward to your positive response and immediate action to protect, restore, and nurture the environment.

—
*Signatories: Rohit Prajapati, environment activist, researcher and writer; Prof Shishir R Raval, landscape architect and ecological planner; Neha Sarwate, environmental and urban planner; Dr Ranjitsinh Devkar, zoologist; Dr Deepa Gavali, wetland ecologist; Dr Jitendra Gavali, botanist; Shakti Bhatt, water resources expert; Dr Arjun Singh Mehta, biotechnologist; Dr Jayendra Lakhmapurkar, hydro-geologist; Hitarth Pandya, educationist and writer; Rutvik Tank, civil engineer and urban planner; and Dhara Patel Mittal, landscape architect and architect.
All photographs, dated January 4. 2018, are of ongoing pre-construction activity (like clearing of vegetation and making an access path for the in the Vishwamitri River at Kala Ghoda Bridge) near, along, and very much inside the Vishwamitri river damaging habitats of Schedule I species, especially the crocodile during its breeding season

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Counterview

Search This Blog