Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Bhopal’s Bhoj Wetland Set for Seventh Boundary Demarcation
Bhopal’s Bhoj Wetland and Upper Lake may get their boundaries measured again.
This could be the seventh survey in almost 30 years.
Officials may use drones to make the new measurement more accurate.
An earlier survey found 117 buildings or sites inside the protected 50-metre zone.
Sixty-eight were on government land, while 49 were on private land.
The National Green Tribunal is considering the problem of encroachments.
A new committee may be created to help protect the lakes and address the encroachments.
The tribunal’s written order and a final agreed boundary have not yet been issued.
The National Green Tribunal’s Central Zone Bench took up encroachment concerns involving Bhopal’s Bhoj Wetland.
Authorities may conduct a seventh demarcation of the wetland and Upper Lake in nearly 30 years.
An earlier survey identified 117 encroachments within the wetland’s 50-metre Full Tank Level zone.
Of those encroachments, 68 were on government land and 49 were on private land.
A new committee and drone-assisted survey are possible, but the tribunal’s formal order is still awaited.
- Who
- The National Green Tribunal’s Central Zone Bench, district administration officials, petitioner Rashid Noor Khan and a possible new committee are involved.
- What
- The Bhoj Wetland’s Full Tank Level and boundaries may be demarcated again, alongside action on encroachments.
- When
- The tribunal took up the issue on Monday; the exercise would be the seventh in nearly 30 years.
- Where
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, including Upper Lake and surrounding areas such as Prempura, Dharampuri, Sevania Gond, Gaura, Bishankhedi, Bilkhiria and Kotra Sultanabad.
- Why
- Authorities are seeking a final, undisputed boundary and stronger protection for the wetland after earlier surveys failed to resolve the issue.
- Wetland
- Bhoj Wetland, including Bhopal’s Upper Lake
- Protected zone
- The 50-metre Full Tank Level zone
- Encroachments found
- 117 in an earlier administrative survey
- Government-land encroachments
- 68
- Private-land encroachments
- 49
- Potential survey method
- Drones may be used
- Tribunal status
- The National Green Tribunal’s formal written order is awaited