AGARTALA: The Tripura high court has sought a final and clear report from the state government regarding its plan for preservation of Rudrasagar lake.
This directive to the state government was given by a division bench of the Tripura high court comprising chief justice Indrajit Mahanty and justice SG Chattopadhyay.
Notably, Rudrasagar lake, also known as Twijilikma, is a Ramsar convention site.
Rudrasagar lake is a lake located at Melaghar in Tripura.
The union ministry of environment and forest has identified Rudrasagar lake as one of the wetlands of national importance for conservation and sustainable use based on its bio-diversity and socio economic importance.
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The high court of Tripura took up the case on its own motion regarding preservation of the heritage site after questions were raised on the location of sluice gate finalised by the state government.
Court appointed amicus curiae Indrajait Chakraborty said, “The site finalized by the state government will in a way prove harmful to the water levels of the lake.”
“The lake was once spread over 2061 acres of land and now the wetland is reduced to close to 300 acres. I have raised the issue before the Court and the Court has held all the pertinent departments answerable for the issue,” Chaktaborty said.
The Tripura government has agreed to submit their report before the court on the next hearing, that is August 29.
Neermahal (Water Palace), a former royal palace built by Maharaja of Tripura Kingdom Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya bahadur of the erstwhile Kingdom of Tripura in the 1930s, is located right in the middle of the Rudrasagar lake.