New Delhi, Aug. 2: The eastern zonal bench of National Green Tribunal has directed the chief secretary of Odisha to submit a detailed action report for immediately addressing the issue of protecting sweet ground water zone adjacent to the sea within Puri beach.

Petitioner Subhas Datta alleged that the sweet water zone, which was declared to be a protected area by the British government and subsequently ratified by both state and central government agencies, had been severely neglected and impacted by irregularities.

"This is very serious, urgent and important aspect and the bench expresses its deep concern," said Justice S.P. Wangdi and expert member P.C. Mishra.

The bench subsequently directed chief secretary of Odisha to immediately address the issue, stop abuse and destruction of water regime and refer the matter to the high power expert committee formed by the bench in 2014.

The bench has also asked the chief secretary, who also chairs the committee, to include the representative of central ground water board in the expert panel.

In 2016, the central board, in a public notice, declared the natural ground water recharge areas within Puri town - Chakratirtha (Balukhanda) and Baliapanda - as "protected zones".

The board directed that "any kind of encroachment of land and/or construction of infrastructure in these areas shall not be permitted".

It also mandated that all ground water users in Puri should "adopt artificial recharge measures through rooftop rain water harvesting". It had also ordered imposition of "restrictions on construction and installation of any new dugwellubewell" without prior permission from the Puri district collector.

Datta in his affidavit claimed that the directives had hardly been followed and the unique water regime has been severely impacted.

"During my recent visit to Puri, I found that the groundwater has become partially salty and found subsequently that several areas of sweet water zones have remained totally unprotected despite central board's order. This has happened due to illegal occupancy and constructions, misuses and abuses of various nature, commercial exploitations, deforestations, waste dumping among others," said Datta.

Datta also reminded that in 1931, the area was first demarcated as "special area" through a gazette notification, while in 2000 the state government declared it as "protected zones".

A representative of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board said that they would submit a status report on solid waste management in Puri in its next hearing on September 18.