👆🏿 I'm right on the legal point.

Because the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) is a designated *Ramsar site (2002)*, India is bound by the Ramsar Convention to maintain its ecological character.

 That means *demolition alone isn’t enough* — the law requires *restoration to original use: wetland / aquaculture / agriculture*.

*What “restoration” means under Ramsar + Wetlands Rules 2017:*
- No change of land use — built-up areas, fillings, or solid waste dumping are violations.
- Evicted encroachments must be reverted to bheris (fish ponds), farmland, or marsh.
- Hydrological connectivity has to be restored (inlet/outlet channels unblocked).
- Native biodiversity (fish, migratory birds, vegetation) must be allowed to regenerate.

*Current reality at EKW ( Kheyadaha side )
Illegal plotting, concrete structures, and even banquet halls sit on Ramsar land. The Calcutta High Court has ordered demolitions multiple times (latest drives in 2023-24), but without restoration the land just gets re-encroached or turns into waste dumping ground.

*What’s missing:*
- Post-demolition land mapping + GPS boundary pillars.
- Mandatory re-flooding / re-excavation of filled bheris within 90 days.
- Accountability on KMC / EKW Management Authority for capital and maintenance expenditure .
- SOP for continuous monitoring with satellite + ground surveys (part of the green mapping you suggested).

Other Ramsar sites in India (like Chilika) used eco-restoration funds + fisher cooperatives to bring land back. EKW can do the same — but only if restoration is treated as non-negotiable, not optional after demolition.

SMG thinks for the Kidney & lung of Kolkata.