The matter pertaining to road and other construction on the eco-sensitive Yamuna floodplains in Vrindavan that was under trial in the National Green Tribunal will now be heard in the Allahabad High Court.
Vrindavan, 2020-09-06 (VT): The matter pertaining to road and other construction on Yamuna floodplains in Vrindavan that was under trial in the National Green Tribunal will now be heard in the Allahabad High Court.
The bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goyal, Justice S P Vangadi, and expert member Nagin Nanda took the decision during the last hearing on the petition filed by noted environmental activist Akash Vashishtha. Basing his findings on the factual report prepared by Prof. C.R. Babu, he alleged that the construction of the 300 mtr road dissecting the eco-sensitive Yamuna floodplains was taking place by illegally destroying the steps of over 500-year-old archaeologically important ghats.
Further to the petition, the NGT had sought a report from a joint committee of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, UP Irrigation Department and District Magistrate Mathura. The state PCB was made the nodal agency for compliance and coordination.
In response, another report was submitted by the MVDA (Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority) in which it said that the road is important from the standpoint of religious tourism and it does not cut across the Yamuna floodplains, but is built outside it. It further stated that as the matter is also subjudiced in the Allahabad High Court, it should be discontinued in the NGT.
However, while closing the matter the Green Court directed the MVDA to clean up the construction debris at the site. While some are happy with it, environmental activists are seeing this as a setback to their fight for saving the Yamuna and reviving ancient ghats along the river.
