NGT asks Odisha government to stop ‘illegal’ construction in and around Tampara Lake

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

The National Green Tribunal, Eastern Zone, has directed the Odisha government not to go ahead with ‘illegal’ construction in and around Tampara Lake, a designated Ramasar site and one of the largest picturesque freshwater lakes of the State.

Tampara lake:

Spread across 337.86 ha with a length of 5.8 km and a width of 670 metres in Ganjam district, Tampara Lake supports at least 60 species of birds, 46 species of fishes, at least 48 species of phytoplanktons, and more than seven species of terrestrial plants and macrophytes.
There is a patch of forest with a width of 2 km that separates Bay of Bengal from the lake.
The wetland is an important habitat for vulnerable species such as Cyprinus carpio, common pochard (Aythya ferina), and river tern (Sterna aurantia).
Tampara is already placed in the Wetland Atlas prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2010.
All Ramsar sites are protected under Wetland Conservation Rules 2017.
The boundaries of the Ramsar Site (Tampara) correspond to the peak inundation area and the fringe hydrophytic vegetation bordering several parts of the shoreline. It is a violation of wetland conservation rules on part of the State government for coming up with concrete structure along the lake.

For Wetland (conservation and Management) Rules 2017: https://optimizeias.com/wetlands-2/