Green belt encroachment: NGT slaps Rs 10k fine on Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner and the executive officer of the civic body for their failure to remove encroachments in the green belts in compliance of its direction.

A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore asked the municipal corporation to execute its order on removal of encroachments within 30 days.

"The facts and circumstances leaves no room of doubt that compliance of the order of the Tribunal have not been made so far, much less to say within a period of 30 days even from December 11, 2019. The tribunal has no option but to pass order is respect of the failure on the part of the officer of the Municipal Corporation to execute the order within 30 days," the bench said.

The tribunal said,"Consequences for such failure were already indicated in the previous orders and therefore, we are of the considered opinion that a cost of Rs 10,000 in equal shares, shall be deposited by the Commissioner .