The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday issued notices to the union Environment and Water Resources ministries, the Uttar Pradesh government and other agencies on a petition filed by a green activist objecting to the river front development and beautification project on the flood plains along the heritage ghats in Vrindavan.
The notices were also sent to the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation department, state Jal Nigam, the Archaeological Survey of India, the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority and local bodies of Mathura district.
The petition states how the agencies, instead of complying with the earlier orders of the Tribunal (of demolishing illegal structures on the flood plain), went ahead and brazenly flouted the directions.
Vrindavan has more than 32 ghats. However most are in a dilapidated state. The UP government without mandatory permissions went ahead with executing a project for expansion, renovation and beautification of the river front, threatening heritage ghats. The work involves construction of new river front area of 2 km in length and extension of Keshi Ghat by 750 metres into the river's flood-plains.