📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Suyash Dwivedi
Local
NGT orders removal of illegal structures around Bhopal lakes within three months
✍️ Amar Ujala · Bhopal
🗓 01 Sep 2026, 07:02 PM
👁 3
The National Green Tribunal has directed that illegal buildings near Bhopal's lakes be cleared within 90 days and new construction be barred within specified distances.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a stringent order targeting encroachments and sewage pollution around the lakes in Bhopal's wetland area.
It prohibits any new construction within 50 metres of the lake perimeter in urban zones and within 250 metres in surrounding rural zones, and mandates that existing illegal structures be demolished within three months.
The tribunal also directed the installation of CCTV cameras on drainage channels that feed the lakes to monitor waste discharge, and warned of strict action against officials found negligent in enforcing the rules.
Authorities are expected to submit compliance reports to the NGT, which will oversee the removal process and ensure that the water bodies are restored to a healthier state.
It prohibits any new construction within 50 metres of the lake perimeter in urban zones and within 250 metres in surrounding rural zones, and mandates that existing illegal structures be demolished within three months.
The tribunal also directed the installation of CCTV cameras on drainage channels that feed the lakes to monitor waste discharge, and warned of strict action against officials found negligent in enforcing the rules.
Authorities are expected to submit compliance reports to the NGT, which will oversee the removal process and ensure that the water bodies are restored to a healthier state.