#NGT notice on #Ghaziabad green belt squatters

NEW DELHI: Illegal construction on the green belts in Ghaziabad area of the national capital region on Wednesday caught the attention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which was dealing with a plea seeking the demolition of such structures to maintain green cover. A bench headed by Justice U D Salvi issued notices to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), Uttar Pradesh government, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) and others, seeking their replies within three weeks. NGT`s notice came in the wake of a plea filed by the Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity (SPENBIO) and Ghaziabad resident Sushil Raghav seeking demolition of unauthorized and illegal structures located on green belts in the city. The plea claimed that according to Master Plan 2021 of GDA, about 2,484 hectares out of 15,554 hectares (15.97%) of the total area covered under the master plan was earmarked as green, but because of GDA`s “inaction”, the green cover was getting reduced by the day. “GDA is constructing a recreation City Club in the green belt in Sector-8, Raj Nagar, which is also an extension of the Central Park situated along ALT Centre road (erstwhile Rani Jhansi Marg).