Jajpur: The National Green Tribunal(NGT) Wednesday put a stay on the ongoing development and beautification works of historic Vyasa Sarovar peetha in Jajpur district, citing a reason that there were irregularities in the conduct of Gram Sabha for the project. A division bench of the NGT also directed the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Ministry of Forest and Environment and the state Forest and Environment department to clear their stand on the issue within four weeks. A case (103/2022/ED) relating to developmental works on this forest land is sub-judice at the NGT.
Earlier, Jajpur Collector had put forth his stand before the NGT while Cuttack DFO August 25, 2022 submitted an affidavit in this regard. In the affidavit, the DFO stated that the land belonging to khata 40 in Mundomal mouza falls under the forest category and works of various projects including roads and a community centre are being executed on this patch of land. It may be noted here that Rs 64 crore has been sanctioned from the District Mineral Foundation(DMF) fund for Vyasa Sarovar development project while National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) is executing its projects through New Delhi-based Krishna Constructions.