NGT halts eco-park work in Surajpur wetlands

Noida: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday ordered an immediate halt to all construction activities on the Surajpur wetland in the reserved forests in Gautam Budh Nagar forest division, effectively stalling the work of an eco-park proposed in the area by UP government.
The order was issued by a bench headed by Justice U D Salvi on a petition filed by environment activist Vikrant Tongad against alleged constructions on the 339-acre wetland and illegal felling of trees by forest officials.
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and has a distinct ecosystem. According to the Wetland Rules 2010, any construction of a permanent structure is prohibited in the eco-sensitive area.
However, the state forest department has constructed a road for visitors on the wetland, which hosts large populations of fauna.
"All constructions related to the development of an eco-park within the forest area have been stopped by the NGT. Illegal felling of trees, construction activity, parking facility were all stopped by the order," said Rahul Chaudhary, advocate representing Tongad in the green court.
In 2014, the UP government had announced a 100-crore project to convert nearly 2,000 acres in Greater Noida into an eco-park. The project had initially been planned to come up in three phases, including a wetland biodiversity park covering the present Surajpur forest area of 339 acres, a forest park in the 1,278-acre Murhidpur zone and a habitat park in the 354-acre Gulistanpur zone.
However, since the Surajpur wetland is a notified reserved forest, a formal clearance from the Union ministry of evironment and forests is awaited.
According to the original plan, the ecological park will have a bird museum, a butterfly conservatory, a flower garden, a bamboo grove, camping sites, a health resort with yoga and meditation facilities, children's play area, hub for forest sports and a souvenir shop.
"We were constructing a bund to help retain water in the area so that it does not flow out. We were also working on converting the soil to a more alkaline variety through osmosis. We were also planning to start fruit-bearing ficus trees like peepal, gulleria and fruit trees like jamun, and shahtut during monsoon," H V Girish, district forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, said. Girish is the new DFO of GB Nagar. "We are preparing a detailed plan to protect the water body by getting it formally listed and protected under wetland protection guidelines," Girish added.