NGT Upholds Ayodhya Bypass and Orders Monitoring of Sand Mining Cases

The National Green Tribunal on May 20, 2026 upheld the decision to construct and widen the 16-kilometre Asharam Tiraha-Ratnagiri Tiraha Ayodhya Bypass project in Bhopal, subject to compliance with environmental and tree protection conditions. The tribunal also directed pollution control boards to verify compliance in a Ghaziabad waterbody case and sought responses on alleged illegal sand mining in Odisha's Subarnarekha river.

The NGT's ruling on the Ayodhya Bypass road project directed monitoring of compensatory plantation for 15 years and sought details on funds deposited and utilised for tree felling, plantation and reafforestation in Madhya Pradesh. The tribunal ruled in favour of the bypass on grounds of traffic necessity while attaching compliance conditions designed to offset the ecological impact of tree removal along the 16-kilometre road corridor. The case reflects the tribunal's approach of allowing public infrastructure projects to proceed subject to verifiable environmental safeguards.

In the Ghaziabad waterbody case, the NGT directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to verify compliance measures for conserving a polluted waterbody in Dasna village. Urban waterbody pollution cases before the NGT have increased markedly as Indian cities expand and drainage systems discharge into lakes and ponds. The tribunal's directions in such cases typically require state pollution control boards to conduct on-site inspections and file action-taken reports, maintaining judicial oversight over environmental compliance.

The Subarnarekha river sand mining case in Odisha adds to a growing body of NGT proceedings on illegal riverbed extraction. Sand mining is one of India's most persistent environmental enforcement challenges, affecting river morphology, aquatic ecosystems and groundwater recharge. The tribunal sought responses and a fact-finding report as a preliminary step, consistent with its practice of gathering ground-level information before issuing directions to state authorities and mining regulators.

Key figure — 16-kilometre Ayodhya Bypass, 15-year compensatory plantation monitoring