One arm of the state government on Monday accused another of failing to take adequate action to remove unauthorised constructions in the East Kolkata Wetlands during a hearing in the high court.
The counsel for the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA) told the bench of Justice Amrita Sinha that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and district authorities were not cooperating, prompting the court to say it was contemplating bringing in paramilitary forces to demolish the illegal structures.
The EKWMA, which includes the state’s chief secretary and environment secretary as members, oversees the management of the wetlands that cover parts of North and South 24-Parganas districts and portions of the Calcutta municipal area administered by the KMC.
During the hearing, the counsel cited multiple orders passed against illegal construction. Justice Sinha intervened and said: “Get these implemented.” The lawyer added that the KMC did not send any representative for a joint field inspection in December despite being informed.
Asked about the allegations later, Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim said at the KMC headquarters: “It is not right... In the recent past, we pulled down illegal constructions and walls being built illegally in four places. We will not allow the wetlands to be encroached.”
As the counsel repeatedly highlighted instances of non-cooperation from the KMC and district authorities, Justice Sinha remarked: “The court is contemplating engaging the paramilitary.”
State government sources said the EKWMA had previously informed the court that there were over 500 cases of illegal construction in the wetlands.
“First of all, you were not in a position to prevent such construction. When it is to be brought down, you are unable to do it,” Justice Sinha told the counsel. “KMC is not cooperating, state has no infrastructure. You do not have that, it is admitted,” she added.
Later, while dictating the order, the judge noted: “The EKWMA has brought to the court’s notice their lack of infrastructure to deal with such unauthorised construction. They also disclosed their inability to handle mass agitation when steps are taken for the disconnection of electricity in the unauthorised constructions.”
She was also unhappy with the authority for continuing to file reports without any visible ground-level progress. “There are reports piling up, but I do not see any work being done on the ground. I do not want any further report, but I want ground-level work to be done,” Justice Sinha said.
The court directed that the Union ministries of environment and forests, and home and housing be made parties to the petition, according to Sudipta Dasgupta, counsel for the petitioner.
The petition was filed in 2023 by an 86-year-old man, alleging that a developer was raising an illegal building on a plot he owned without obtaining the necessary approvals from the authorities. The court ordered demolition of that structure.
During the hearings, it emerged that there are over 500 illegal constructions within the notified East Kolkata Wetlands, which include water bodies, agricultural land and settlements.
Environmentalists have long warned about encroachment of water bodies and illegal conversion of land in the wetlands, which are part of the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
Metro had earlier reported the illegal conversion of a plot in Nazirabad, near Anandapur, into warehouses that were gutted by fire on January 26, leaving 27 workers missing. DNA testing last week confirmed the identities of 18 of them.
A senior state government official had confirmed that the plot in Karimpur mouza was recorded as agricultural land in official records and was part of the protected East Kolkata Wetlands. No permission had been granted for construction.
“The land records do not show permission to convert the plot for any use other than agriculture. As it is a notified wetlands area, permission could not have been granted in any case,” the official said.
The case is scheduled for further hearing in Calcutta High Court on March 16.