Tent city along Ganga, inaugurated by PM, ‘violated’ environmental norms: NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said that a ‘Tent City’ set up on the riverbed of the Ganga in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in 2023 was established and operated in “violation” of environmental laws, as per a recent order by the tribunal.

Inaugurating the project on January 13, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said: “With the Tent City, tourists and devotees coming to Kashi now have an incredible means of accommodation.”

“We find that the Tent City by the respondents No. 11 and 12 (two private companies) was set up and operated in violation of the environmental norms and the provisions of the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016 for which the environmental compensation has been levied, but not recovered. Therefore, the same is required to be recovered expeditiously,” the NGT said in an order dated January 8.

The Principal Bench of the NGT comprising chairperson Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A. Senthil Vel was hearing an application that the tent city was allegedly polluting the riverbed and river water and causing harm to flora and fauna. The applicant also alleged that the sewage of the Tent City was directly discharged into the river.

“The respondents (government authorities) will ensure that in future violating the provisions of River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016 and the applicable environmental norms, no such Tent City is allowed to be set up on the bank of river Ganga or its tributaries,” the NGT order said.

The applicant had also alleged that the tent city was set up at the place of “Kachhua Wildlife Sanctuary” and this sanctuary was illegally de-notified in 2020.

The NGT order also said that since the de-notification of a turtle sanctuary, which is related to the tent city, is pending before the Supreme Court, the green court “does not deem it proper” to go into this issue.

In a report submitted to the NGT in October 2023, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) noted that “application for the prior-approval for the project development of Tent City has been made after the project has already been implemented in 2022”.

The tent city was developed by the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) in public-private partnership mode to tap the potential of tourism in the region. The project with “luxurious accommodation” facilities was developed to cater to the increased tourist footfall in Varanasi, especially after the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

The tourists could reach the tent city by boats from different ghats situated in the vicinity. It was supposed to be operational from October to June every year and dismantled for three months when water level in Ganga rises during the monsoon.