NGT orders demolition of Hotel Sonar Bangla in Sundarbans
NGT orders demolition of Hotel Sonar Bangla in Sundarbans
The petition was filed by the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the demolition of a luxury hotel-cum-private tourist resort in Dulki village at Gosaba in South 24 Parganas. The bulldozing is for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification in the Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA) of the Sundarbans.
The Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (DMF), an organization working for small-scale fisherfolks of southern Bengal, had filed a petition before NGT's Eastern Zonal bench, Kolkata.
The forum highlighted the illegal construction of Hotel Sonar Bangla Sundarban, which covers an area of approximately 8.5 acres along River Datta surrounded by mangroves. It is a part of the Hotel Sonar Bangla chain and offers luxury forest accommodation.
It alleged that the construction of the hotel was in blatant violation of the provisions of the CRZ notification envisaged by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The DMF members said the demolition of the hotel would serve as a deterrent against any future violation of CRZ norms and protect the critically vulnerable coastal ecology of the Sundarbans region.
