New Delhi: The eastern zonal bench of National Green Tribunal on Thursday directed the Odisha government to immediately install rainwater harvesting system at all government and private premises to tide over sweet water crisis in Puri.

The bench of Justice S.P. Wangdi and expert member P.C. Mishra, asked the state public health engineering department to explore the possibility of installing desalination plant in Puri in line with other coastal cities.

It has also asked the government to complete the pipe-water supply and river water treatment projects in Puri. This will go a long way in meeting the sweet water need of the coastal town.

Petitioner and environmentalist Subhas Datta had alleged that sweet water zones in Puri had been severely neglected. Last year, natural groundwater recharge areas in Puri - Chakratirtha, Balu- khanda and Baliapanda - were notified 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".

The notification mandated that all groundwater users in Puri should "adopt artificial recharge measures through rooftop rain water harvesting" that was on Thursday turned into a judicial order.

Datta claimed that the directives had hardly been followed and this adversely impacted the water regime.

"Though several orders have been passed by the tribunal to protect the sweet ground water in Puri, nothing much has been done by authorities so far," Datta told The Telegraph.

The bench has also asked Odisha chief secretary, along with Orissa Water & Sewage Board and the PHE, to file their compliance reports by December 21.

"We will definitely try to comply with the order," said an official of the Odisha government.