Six years. That’s how long this case has dragged on. And on Wednesday, the National Green Tribunal finally said what everyone in Bhopal already suspected: officials aren’t just slow, they don’t respect the law.
The bench, led by Justice Sheo Kumar Singh and expert member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi, was hearing Original Application No. 12/2025 (CZ), Rashid Noor Khan vs. Collector, Bhopal and Others. The tribunal said officials have shown “no regard to the rule of law.” It went further, saying the inaction looks deliberate — an attempt to protect powerful people’s constructions inside the lake’s protected zone.
“They Are Protecting Them”
Rashid Noor Khan filed this case about a year and a half ago. He’d filed one before, too. That earlier case got some old houses near the Taj hotel torn down — but Khan says that let the real culprits off the hook. “Violations don’t end just because a few small houses are broken down,” he said. This time, he named bigger players.
Asked about the tribunal’s comment on the rule of law, Khan told Ground Report, “Action should be taken against them. The law already existed — they are the ones breaking it.” He wants to know how these constructions got permission in the first place, and thinks whoever approved them should face an inquiry too.
Is there special protection for powerful people? Khan says yes, plainly. “They’re protecting them — that’s obvious.” His petition names 20 to 22 people with unauthorised constructions. “Not one of them has been demolished,” he said.
“We may have to take this all the way to the Supreme Court. We won’t stop until these structures come down.” Wednesday’s order didn’t impress him much either. “What has actually happened? It’s just reprimands. The government won’t act until the court takes truly serious action — until officials are suspended, they won’t feel the pressure,” he said.
Why does the BMC keep dragging its feet? Khan blames politics. “The big people who run these departments are the ones behind this. Junior officials don’t have the courage to act because powerful people are involved.”
Still, he called the tribunal’s remarks a small win — “at least the court said this much openly.” He’s ready to fight the BMC’s next excuse, too. Even before Bhoj Wetland got its Ramsar tag, he points out, Bhopal’s 2005 Master Plan already banned construction within 33 metres of the lake.
In July 2023, Ground Report reported the NGT fined the BMC ₹1 crore for letting a floating restaurant get built inside the lake’s protected 50-metre zone. The tribunal used the “polluter pays” principle to justify the fine. Last September, Ground Report found dangerously high microplastic levels in the same lake — and the NGT again had to order the BMC to act on pollution it had ignored for months.
Six Years, One More Deadline
Advocate Harshwardhan Tiwari, who represents Khan, told the tribunal only small encroachments have been cleared. The big ones are still standing. Earlier this year, a task force found 347 illegal structures near the lake’s Full Tank Level. By July, only 57 had come down. The BMC was fined ₹20,000 for ignoring the tribunal’s earlier orders in this same case.
BMC’s lawyer, Gunjan Chouksey, pointed to pending cases in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The tribunal wasn’t buying it. Court orders must be followed, it said — but that’s no excuse to let illegal construction continue.
The next hearing is July 29. The BMC and the Collector have to file a full progress report before then. State counsel Prashant M. Harne told the tribunal action would follow.
The Upper Lake supplies nearly 40% of Bhopal’s drinking water. It’s also a Ramsar-listed wetland spanning 31 square kilometres. Whether July 29 brings real action, or just another round of reprimands, is anyone’s guess.
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