Following a plea alleging dispute over demarcation, the National Green Tribunal has constituted a committee to decide whether two private engineering colleges have been constructed inside the Soor Sarovar bird sanctuary in Agra.
Observing that there was a conflicting view on the issue, a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said, “On the one hand, the stand of the Agra District Magistrate is that the area is covered by the notification, on the other hand, without demarcation of the same, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority has granted environmental clearance… thereby permitting the institutions to continue.”
The committee, comprising of Principal Secretaries of the Revenue and Forest departments, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh, has been directed to ascertain whether the engineering colleges are within the area of wildlife sanctuary, as notified in March 1991.
The directions came while the green panel was hearing a plea that challenged the construction of Anand Engineering College, Agra, and Hindustan Institute of Management and Technology within the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary in Agra.
The plea further sought demolition of the “illegal structure”, quashing of the environmental clearances granted and restoration of the area.