Archive · 2 Sep 2026
NGT Orders Bhopal Lake Sewage Mapping, Zero Untreated Discharge Plan
The National Green Tribunal wants officials to find every drain sending sewage into Bhopal’s lakes.
They must work to stop untreated sewage from entering the water.
The sewage should instead be sent to working treatment plants.
Officials may use cameras and flow meters to check pumping stations.
The State Pollution Control Board must measure how much sewage is produced and treated.
It must also prepare a plan to stop all untreated discharge.
Officials have three weeks to submit their report.
New construction within 50 metres of Bhoj Wetland’s high-water boundary is restricted, and illegal structures must be removed within three months.
The National Green Tribunal ordered authorities to identify all sewage outfalls entering Bhopal’s Upper Lake, Lower Lake and other major lakes.
Authorities must intercept and divert untreated wastewater to functional sewage treatment plants immediately.
The State Pollution Control Board must report sewage generation, interception, treatment capacity, pumping stations and sewerage networks.
The tribunal directed officials to submit a factual and action-taken report within three weeks.
Construction within 50 metres of Bhoj Wetland’s high flood level is restricted, while illegal structures must be removed within three months.
- Who
- The National Green Tribunal issued the directions after a petition by RTI activist Nitin Saxena; the State Pollution Control Board and wetland authorities must act.
- What
- Authorities must map sewage outfalls, stop untreated discharge into Bhopal’s lakes, prepare a zero-discharge plan and restrict construction near Bhoj Wetland.
- When
- The action-taken report is due within three weeks; illegal constructions within the wetland area must be removed within three months.
- Where
- Bhopal’s Upper Lake, Lower Lake, other major lakes and the Bhoj Wetland area in Madhya Pradesh.
- Why
- To identify and prevent sewage pollution of the lakes and protect the wetland from unlawful construction.
- Petitioner
- RTI activist Nitin Saxena
- Tribunal
- National Green Tribunal
- Lakes named
- Upper Lake and Lower Lake in Bhopal
- Report deadline
- Within three weeks
- Construction restriction
- No temporary or permanent construction within 50 metres of Bhoj Wetland’s high flood level
- Removal deadline
- Illegal constructions must be removed within three months
- Monitoring tools
- PTZ cameras and digital flow meters may be installed at relevant pumping houses and stations