Beautification of Dalsagar in Seoni is against environmental rules

Dalsagar is a wetland in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh. The municipal administration carried out some construction work on this wetland for beautification. Later, the matter regarding this construction reached the National Green Tribunal (NGT). In the judgment, the NGT said to remove the construction work done so far. In addition, to compensate for the negative impact on the wetland due to the same.

Let us understand in detail what this whole matter is.

A 385-meter bridge was to be built for beautification.

Dalsagar Pond is an important natural site of the Seoni district and a centre of biodiversity as a wetland. In 2023, the District Planning Committee decided to beautify the Dalsagar pond, and the money for this entire construction was allotted through the MLA fund. 

In the tenders issued by Seoni Nagar Palika (municipal council) for this beautification, a 385-meter-long overbridge was to be constructed between MPT Chowpatty and the pond. Along with this, a 25-foot statue of Raja Dalpat Shah and a musical water fountain costing more than 6 crores were also mentioned in this tender.

A petition was filed against the construction going on in Dal Sagar.

Since this bridge was being built within 50 meters of the pond, it violated the Wetland Rules 2017. In October 2023, Advocate Navendu Mishra filed a petition against the construction before the NGT.

However, there was a catch in this case: Dalsagar Lake was not mentioned in the wetland portal of Madhya Pradesh. However, according to an order of the Supreme Court in the M.K. Balakrishnan case in 2022, if any wetland appears in the National Wetland Atlas prepared with the help of ISRO and its area is more than 2.5 hectares, then the Wetland Rules 2017 apply to it. In addition, after the Supreme Court's decision, the government of India also issued an office memorandum. The memorandum said that all wetlands larger than 0.25 hectares in the country would come under Rule 4 of the Wetland Rules 2017. Dalsagar Pond is spread over a large area of ​​17.80 acres and is also part of the wetland atlas.

After this, in subsequent hearings, NGT constituted a joint committee comprising one representative each of the Seoni Collector and State Pollution Control Board. This committee was responsible for reporting on the status quo of Dalsagar Pond and submitting a report within 6 weeks.

Beautification of the pond ignoring the rules

In the hearing held on 8th January 2024, the committee presented the 'Site Inspection Panchnama'. The main observations presented by the committee are as follows:

1. Only 30% of the wetland area was found to be filled with water.

2. It appeared that the wetland’s water had been drained for the overbridge’s construction.

3. A 385-meter-long footbridge is under construction on the pond; 2 out of 17 pillars are completed.

4. A parallel temporary road has been built for easy transportation of construction materials.

5. A 25-foot-high statue of Raja Dalpat Shah and the concrete base made for its installation were found.

6. A lot of bushes have grown around the pond.

7. Untreated sewage being brought by a drain is directly flowing into the pond. At the same time, there is not a single sewage treatment plant in Seoni district.

8. Apart from this, the committee also collected samples to measure the quality of water.

The water quality of Dal Sagar 

In the sample test, the amount of dissolved oxygen (D.O.) in the pond water was found to be 5.80 mg/l, whereas the ideal amount should be more than 6 mg/l. The biological oxygen demand of the pond water was 4.40 mg/l, and the biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the drain flowing into the pond was 34.0 mg/l, which is much higher than the standard amount (3 mg/l).

After these results, the regional office of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Jabalpur, issued a notice to Seoni Nagar Palika, imposing an environmental compensation of Rs 4 crore 80 lakh. Along with this, a case has also been filed under Sections 24, 25, 43, and 44 of the Water (Conservation and Pollution Control) Act 1974 for releasing contaminated water into the pond.

What are the provisions of Wetland Rules 2017 that have been ignored?

Under Rule 4 of the Wetland Rules 2017. Rule 4 (2, vi) of the Wetland Rules 2017 clearly states that no construction work of a permanent nature should be done within 50 meters of the full tank level of the wetland. But in Dal Sagar, exactly the opposite of this happened. Apart from this, under Section 4 (2,v) of the 2017 rule, it is also prohibited to release untreated sewage into the pond in any way. 

In the case of Dal Sagar, both these rules have been ignored. At the same time, untreated sewage from the Rain Basera drain located behind Dal Sagar is being released into the pond. These acts have caused immense damage to the pond’s ecology, as stated by the committee in its site inspection panchnama.

NGT ordered the demolition of construction in the pond.

In subsequent hearings, NGT put a stay on the construction at Dal Sagar Pond. In its order dated July 9th, NGT ordered to remove the construction on the periphery of Dal Sagar and restore the pond to its original state.

In its recent order, NGT has constituted a committee comprising the Director of the Central Pollution Control Board Bhopal, the Environment Secretary, and a representative of the Central Ground Water Authority. This committee will assess the environmental compensation according to the damage caused to the environment and ecology by this entire process. The committee has been asked to submit its report in 4 weeks.

Response of the municipality on this matter

We spoke to Mohammad Shafiq, the Municipal Council President of Seoni. Shafiq said, that the efforts have been made to beautify this pond since 2018-19. Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has performed its Bhoomi Pujan twice. We have received government money for its development. We wanted to make the pond a great tourist spot in the city. But now the NGT has ordered to demolish it. Shafiq further said,

We respect the decision of NGT. When NGT gave orders regarding drain water, we immediately stopped the drain water from mixing into the pond. But at present it is not possible to demolish these pillars because the pond is full. It will also cost 20 to 25 lakh rupees to demolish these pillars, which we don’t have right now. 

Dalsagar was built by Gond King Dalpat Shah. If its beautification is stopped, the tribals here may also get angry. We will approach the Supreme Court if needed.

We discussed the absence of sewage treatment plants in the Seoni district with CMO Ram Kumar Kurveti. He said that, 

A proposal for a sewage treatment plant in the city has been submitted and is awaiting approval. Once approved, tenders will be issued, and construction will commence within the next 10 to 15 days.

Construction efforts continue even after the stay.

The petitioner in this case, Navendu Mishra, said that even after getting a stay from NGT, the municipality tried to continue the construction work illegally. During this time, the municipality formed a local wetland institution and sought its permission to beautify Dalsagar. They have prepared a proposal and sent it to the Ministry of Environment.

Navendu said that in the name of the beautification of the pond, the trees on the island of the pond were cut, the pond was being damaged, the water was drained, and the land of the pond also became hard due to the continuous use of heavy machines. Due to the machines being in the pond for a long time, rainwater could not fill it. Navendu further says,

Dalsagar has been known as the most beautiful pond in Seoni. But it was ruined in the name of beautification and construction. More than 50 trees on the island in the middle were cut down just to install the statue.

Way forward

While talking to Ground Report, he said that after this case, Nagar Nigam has also targeted him. After the NGT’s decision, Nagar Nigam issued a notice to demolish his shop.

Generations ago, he had taken a shop on lease from Nagar Nigam, one floor of which was constructed. He has been paying taxes for this shop continuously, and the shop’s agreement was twice renewed by the Nagar Palika. However, after this case, after 15 years, they issued a notice to demolish the shop. Navendu further said,

One has to pay a big price for raising a voice against this politics. Nagar Palika gave the order to demolish my old shop under Section 187. When the MLA got angry, he went straight to Palika and started getting the shop sealed.

I was offered money ranging from 10 lakh to 50 lakh to not pursue this case further. Even after this, the local MLA gave the issue a caste narrative by calling me a Brahmin and misleading the innocent tribal community with false and untrue statements.

The state of wetlands in Madhya Pradesh is concerning. Ground Report has conducted extensive research on this issue, revealing that numerous wetlands, particularly in the Gwalior and Bhopal divisions, are in poor condition. Even Ramsar sites, such as Sankhya Sagar and Sirpur Pond, have not been spared from degradation. The ongoing construction work at Dal Sagar Pond in Seoni further exemplifies this troubling trend, highlighting the broader challenges facing the region's wetland ecosystems.

The next hearing in this case, previously scheduled for August 13th, has been postponed to September 9th. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the demolition of construction work in Dal Sagar Pond. The possibility and timeline for Dal Sagar's restoration to its original condition remain to be seen.

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