The National Green Tribunal has issued a stern directive to the State of Madhya Pradesh to immediately halt pollution and remove encroachments from the historic Sapta Sagar water bodies in Ujjain, reaffirming the state’s non-delegable duty to protect ecologically and culturally vital water resources. This order underscores the Tribunal’s authority to enforce environmental compliance even where administrative apathy has persisted for years.
Background & Facts
The Dispute
The Sapta Sagar - a group of seven sacred water bodies including Govardhan Sagar, Rudrasagar, Pushkar Sagar, Kshirsagar, Ratnakar Sagar, Vishnusagar, and Purshottam Sagar - are integral to Ujjain’s religious, cultural, and ecological heritage. These water bodies, referenced in ancient Puranas and the Ujjain Master Plan 2021, are under severe threat due to unchecked encroachments and systematic discharge of untreated sewage. Over half of Govardhan Sagar’s 36 bighas, recorded in revenue records, has been illegally occupied, while the remaining water is contaminated, breeding mosquitoes and disease.
Procedural History
- 2022: Original Application No.11/2022(CZ) filed by Bakir Ali Rangwala highlighting encroachments and pollution.
- 2025: Original Application No.20/2025(CZ) filed by Prashant Mourya, reinforcing the same concerns with updated evidence.
- 2026: Both applications heard together by the Central Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal.
- Multiple interim applications (I.A. No.115/2024 and I.A. No.123/2025) were filed seeking urgent intervention.
- The Tribunal had previously sought reports from local authorities, which remained incomplete or non-compliant.
The Parties' Positions
- Applicants and Intervener: Argued that encroachments are illegal, revenue records clearly identify the land as water bodies, and no court stay exists to prevent removal. They cited the Ujjain Master Plan 2021 to demonstrate official recognition of the crisis.
- Respondents (State of MP, MPPCB, Ujjain Municipal Corporation): Admitted delays but claimed no formal action plan was in place. The Municipal Corporation submitted a belated application not yet on record.
Relief Sought
The applicants sought immediate removal of encroachments, cessation of sewage discharge, water quality testing, and institutional accountability through monitoring by the State Environment Department.
The Legal Issue
The central question was whether the State’s duty to protect ecologically and culturally significant water bodies under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 extends to enforcing removal of illegal encroachments and preventing pollution, even in the absence of a specific statutory mandate for each action.
Arguments Presented
For the Petitioner
The applicants relied on M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath to argue that sacred water bodies are part of the public trust doctrine, and the State, as trustee, cannot abdicate its responsibility. They cited Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which empowers the Central Government to issue directions for environmental protection, and argued that the Tribunal, as a statutory body under Section 14, has the authority to enforce such directions. The Ujjain Master Plan 2021 was presented as an official document recognizing the degradation and prescribing remedial measures.
For the Respondent
The State contended that encroachment removal requires civil court adjudication of title and that the Tribunal lacks jurisdiction over land disputes. They argued that the Municipal Corporation lacked funds and manpower, and that pollution control was a multi-agency challenge requiring coordination beyond the Tribunal’s reach.
The Court's Analysis
The Tribunal rejected the State’s jurisdictional objection, holding that the protection of water bodies from pollution and encroachment falls squarely within the NGT’s mandate under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, irrespective of title disputes. The Court emphasized that the public trust doctrine, as affirmed in M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath, imposes a fiduciary obligation on the State to preserve natural resources for public use, especially when they hold religious and ecological significance.
"This Tribunal is concerned with the water body of the Sapta Sagar... still recorded in the revenue records... and situated in the city of Ujjain (a pious city)."
The Court noted that the Ujjain Master Plan 2021, prepared by the State’s own planning authority, explicitly identified encroachment and sewage discharge as primary causes of degradation - making the State’s inaction a breach of its own policy commitments. The Tribunal further held that the absence of a civil court stay does not preclude administrative action; in fact, it obligates authorities to act. The Court dismissed claims of resource constraints as unacceptable excuses for violating constitutional and statutory environmental duties.
The Tribunal also invoked Article 21 of the Constitution, linking environmental degradation to the right to life and health, and stressed that the sanctity of the Sapta Sagar is not merely cultural but ecological, requiring immediate remediation ahead of the Simhastha festival.
The Verdict
The applicants succeeded. The National Green Tribunal held that the State has a non-delegable duty to protect sacred water bodies from encroachment and pollution, and directed immediate remedial action, institutional monitoring, and strict compliance timelines.
What This Means For Similar Cases
Encroachment Removal Does Not Require Civil Court Clearance
- Practitioners may now argue that where revenue records clearly identify land as a water body, administrative removal of encroachments is lawful without waiting for civil litigation.
- The NGT’s ruling reinforces that environmental protection trumps procedural delays in title disputes when public health and ecological integrity are at stake.
State Agencies Must Proactively Monitor Sacred Natural Sites
- Environmental departments must now treat culturally significant water bodies as priority zones under the Environment (Protection) Act.
- Monthly compliance reporting to the State Environment Department, as mandated here, sets a new benchmark for accountability in heritage conservation cases.
Pollution Control Is a Non-Negotiable Obligation
- Discharge of untreated sewage into any water body - even if historically used as a dumping ground - is now unequivocally illegal.
- Water sampling and public reporting of test results, as ordered here, must become standard practice in all urban water body restoration projects.
