ENVIRO TALK ON EKW - NAZIRABAD

Illegal encroachment and construction in Nazirabad, a critical part of the Ramsar-listed East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), are being tackled through urgent, court-mandated evictions and restorations. 

The Calcutta High Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) have ordered the demolition of illegal structures, including commercial warehouses, on encroached land, demanding the restoration of water bodies to their original state, with strict instructions to halt new constructions and cut utility services to illegal sites. 

Key Problems and Mitigation Measures:

Illegal Construction & Encroachment: Illegal warehouses and structures (e.g., in R.S. Dag No. 1407, Mouza-Kharki) are occupying wetlands, altering land use without permission from the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA).

Destruction of Ecosystem: 

Illegal filling of bheris (fisheries) and wetlands for development is destroying the natural waste treatment system, necessitating rapid restoration.

Court-Ordered Eviction:

 The HC and NGT have directed the immediate removal of illegal structures and unauthorized roads (e.g., near Munshir Bheri ).

Utility & Registry Restrictions: 

The court has instructed that electricity providers (CESC, WBSEDCL) disconnect power to illegal structures and, along with land registration authorities, stop authorizing new construction or registrations in protected zones.

Action Plan: EKWMA is tasked with enforcing the 2006 Act, conducting surveys to identify illegal units (e.g., 620-plus units identified), and restoring the land to its original state. 

These measures are critical to saving the 12,500-hectare wetland, which is crucial for treating Kolkata's wastewater naturally. 

Environmentalist and green technologist Somendra Mohan Ghosh (often cited as S.M. Ghosh) has raised serious concerns regarding the ecological destruction of the Nazirabad area, located within the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a Ramsar site. 

Ghosh has highlighted the following points regarding the filling of wetlands in this region:

Wetland Encroachment: 

Scores of bheris (fisheries) and wetlands in the Nazirabad belt have been filled up over the past decade, replacing natural water bodies with illegal warehouses, plastic processing units, and automobile garages.

Illegal Construction:

 These, often, are built on illegal landfills in the Karimpur mouja under Kheyada II gram panchayat, an area that is part of the protected East Kolkata Wetland boundary.

Safety Hazards:

The filling of these wetlands led to the construction of unsafe, unpermitted warehouses, which recently resulted in a massive fire that killed 25 people in January 2026 (as reported till date ).

Context:

Ghosh, along with other activists, has consistently warned that the unauthorized filling of these wetlands, which act as a natural flood defense and sewage disposal system, is leading to a major ecological crisis for the city. 

In addition to the Nazirabad issue, Somendra Mohan Ghosh is actively involved in campaigns to stop the filling of wetlands, illegal construction in the EKW, and the cleaning of the Rabindra Sarobar lake.