Public Interest Complaint Filed With NGT and DC Questioning Selective Demolition of Poor Settlements
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A fierce controversy has erupted in Jamshedpur over administrative anti-encroachment drives along the Swarnarekha river bed, with serious allegations of selective enforcement. Activists and local representatives have formally escalated the matter to top statutory authorities, demanding to know why municipal demolitions disproportionately target impoverished settlements while powerful commercial and industrial establishments situated along the riverbanks remain untouched.
Ajay Kumar Sharma Files Formal Complaint With Ngt and DC
Raising critical questions regarding fairness and administrative consistency, Ajay Kumar Sharma, a prominent member of the Toyo Sangharsh Samiti, has lodged a comprehensive public interest complaint. The grievance has been formally submitted to the East Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner (DC), the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the state government, and the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board.
The core argument centers on a fundamental policy question: if reclaiming public land and protecting the fragile ecosystem of the Swarnarekha river basin is the administration's top priority, why is the scale of enforcement being applied unequally across different sections of society?
Highlighting Selective Enforcement and Citing NGT Orders
The complaint draws heavily upon past judicial directives issued by the NGT, including:
Order dated August 23, 2024: Highlighting formal objections raised by local groups such as the Indira Nagar and Kalyan Nagar Basti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti regarding arbitrary demolition notices issued by Circle Officers.
Order dated July 28, 2025: Noting explicit instructions where the Tribunal directed the state government and Pollution Control Board to clarify their official stance on major industrial encroachments altering the natural flow of the Swarnarekha riverbed.
Pointing out the stark disparity, Sharma questioned whether large corporate complexes, commercial entities, and institutional structures lining both riverbanks have been subjected to the same rigorous surveys and eviction notices as vulnerable communities in Indira Nagar, Bhuiyandih, and Chhaya Nagar.
Demanding Scientific Investigation and Procedural Fairness
The legal petition highlights several technical flaws and violations of natural justice in how current demolition drives are executed:
Absence of Comparative Mapping: Authorities failed to conduct scientific analyses—such as comparing historical revenue maps, Khasra-Khatiyan records, satellite imagery, and current topography—to accurately determine historical boundaries and industrial waste dumping (slag).
Misinterpretation of Judicial Orders: The complaint challenges whether any NGT ruling explicitly mandates the summary demolition of citizens' homes without due process.
Denial of the Right to Be Heard: Residents argue that bulldozers are deployed without properly demarcating plots, verifying revenue documents, or granting affected families a fair opportunity to present legal objections.
Call for Equal and Impartial Application of Environmental Laws
The petition concludes with an assertive demand that environmental protection and anti-encroachment laws must be enforced without bias. Activists emphasize that safeguarding the Swarnarekha river requires transparent, scientific, and uniform action that holds industrial polluters and large encroachers to the exact same legal standards as ordinary citizens.
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