GHAZIABAD: The National Green Tribunal has directed the district administration to remove all encroachments from near Arthala lake , the largest water body in Ghaziabad . The tribunal’s principal bench in Delhi, headed by judicial member Justice Raghuvendra Singh Rathod and comprising expert Dr S S Garbyal has given the authorities three months’ time to comply with its order.Arthala is one of the main water bodies in the district and lies in close proximity to Hindon. It is also one of the major ground water recharging sources in the district. The encroachments around Arthala lake could be housing at least 7,000 people, sources said.The NGT order came after a year-long litigation started by a city-based NGO, Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity (SPENBIO).“The encroachment of the lake has led to the reduction of its area from 2,03,662 square metres to 1,32,000 square metres. The NGT order today implies a recovery of the lake’s catchment area which would entail removal of illegal houses and factories in the vicinity,” Akash Vashisht, founder, SPENBIO, and applicant of the case, said.The petitioners in their application submitted in March 2017 had pointed out at encroachments around the original Arthla lake that include khasra numbers 948, 514, 1419, 1391, 1422, 1444, 1445, 1456, 1446, 1304, 882/2 and 1309.The petitioners had pointed out massive dumping of solid and biomedical wastes, disposal of sewage from the unauthorized, illegal colonies situated in Arthla village in Pargana Loni. The petitioners had also pointed out the massive industrial discharge in the form of effluents into the lake from factories and hospitals in the vicinity.“The industrial effluents, sewage and solid, biomedical wastes flowing directly into the Arthala lake, are contaminating the entire ground water table of the region and is adversely affecting the health of the thousands of people residing in nearby residential colonies and is a violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974,” Vashisht said.A K Tiwari, regional officer, UPPCB, said: “We are awaiting the order from the NGT. Action will be taken as per the order and executed by the administration through GDA.”

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