The National Green Tribunal has asked the Assam government to submit a status report on the present condition of the Deepor Beel, a large natural wetland, which is a Ramsar site and an important destination of migratory birds.
The tribunal also asked the State Chief Secretary to submit a detail report on whether any municipal solid waste was being dumped on Deepor Beel and if any construction activities were going on in and around the wetland. It also asked if the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation were following rules.
The NGT issued the directive on October 21 while admitting an application filed by RTI activist Rohit Choudhury, in which he alleged that unrestricted and unregulated “illegal” dumping of garbage and sewage on the wetland had a disastrous effect on the wetland’s ecosystem.
Mr. Choudhury also expressed concern over the future of elephant herds that come down to wetland from the nearby Rani reserved forest and other species of fauna in the Deepor Beel and pleaded with the tribunal to issue a directive to authorities to ensure norms are adhered to.
Declared as a Ramsar site in 2002, Deepor Beel has total area of 900 hectares on the southwest corner of the city and about 5 km away from the river Brahmaputra. Apart from the resident birds, the wetland is a favourite destination of migratory birds in winter.
Deepor Beel is recorded as a permanent fresh water lake with abundant vegetation in the Directory of Asian Wetlands and a part of was declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1989 under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
