The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Bihar government to form a fact-finding committee to probe allegations of encroachment on Kabartal Lake in Begusarai, the state’s first Ramsar site and a major catchment area.

A Ramsar site is a wetland designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as The Convention on Wetlands.

The eastern zonal bench of the NGT has acted on a petition filed by environment activist Subhas Datta that the lake has been encroached upon for cultivation and commercial and industrial activities. The fact-finding committee has been asked to submit a report within four weeks.

The wetland, stated to be the largest oxbow lake in Asia, was once a paradise for migratory birds.

The NGT order was passed on July 8 but could only be accessed on Tuesday.

“Considering the allegations made, we deem it appropriate to constitute a committee comprising the following members… (i) senior scientist, Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB), (ii) senior officer, Bihar State Wetland Authority, (iii) divisional forest officer, Begusarai, and (iv) district magistrate, Begusarai, or his representative not below the rank of additional district magistrate,” reads the order passed by Justice B. Amit Sthalekar and expert member Arun Kumar Verma.

“The committee shall inspect the site in question and submit its report within four weeks on affidavit with regard to the allegations made,” directed the bench,adding that the “matter requires consideration”.

“We have received the order and will soon organise an inquiry and submit a report as solicited,” S. Chandrasekhar, member secretary of the BSPCB, told The Telegraph on Tuesday. He said the board’s role was limited to maintaining the water quality in the lake.

The Ramsar site contains a cluster of 16-17 water bodies and spans 2,620 hectares of open water and marshes interspersed with plantations.

“As per the 2019 post-monsoon report, nearly 82 per cent of the site was a marsh (of which 25 per cent cultivated) and 16 per cent is open water… (it) is a catchment area for rainwater but the same has been encroached over a period of time and its area has been allowed to be reduced,” said the order, referring to the petition.

“The area in and around the lake is being encroached upon for cultivation, so-called developmental work, human habitation, industrial and commercial purposes,” Datta said.

He claimed that no “integrated management plan” for the lake, a mandatory requirement for a Ramsar site, was prepared over the last 35 years. “At present, certain threatening activities through draining in and draining out of water, obstruction of water by damming and canalisation have become rampant,” the petitioner said.

The activist also complained about several constructions, including a large temple complex and a police station, coming up in the wetland area and amassing waste with no management system in place.

“We have completed the integrated management plan and have already submitted it to the state government for approval,” a senior official from the Bihar Wetlands Authority told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

The official said he was yet to receive the order but claimed that the contrasting demands of the farmer and fishermen community were making the situation worse. “Fishermen want water and farmers want the wetland to dry off for cultivation; we are in between,” he said.