New Delhi | January 2026
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday held that a tent city set up on the Ganga riverbed in Varanasi in 2023 was established and operated in gross violation of environmental norms and statutory provisions governing protection of the river.
The green tribunal was hearing a petition alleging that the tent city was developed without mandatory environmental clearances, resulting in pollution of the Ganga and causing serious harm to the river’s fragile ecosystem, including flora and fauna.
A bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member A. Senthil Vel observed that the tent city, developed and operated by Respondent No. 11 (M/s Praveg Communications India Limited) and Respondent No. 12 (M/s Niraan – The Tent City), was set up in clear violation of environmental regulations and the provisions of the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order.
“We find that the tent city was set up and operated in violation of environmental norms,” the tribunal categorically held.
The bench noted that the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), in November 2023, imposed environmental compensation of approximately ₹17 lakh each on the two private entities for operating the tent city from January to May 2023 in breach of green norms.
Directing strict enforcement, the NGT ordered the UPPCB and the Environment Department of the Uttar Pradesh government to recover the environmental compensation expeditiously within a period of three months.
Significantly, the tribunal also issued a clear directive to state authorities to ensure that “no such tent city is permitted to be set up on the banks of the river Ganga or its tributaries in the future.”
The record showed that the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) had entered into an agreement with the two private respondents for developing the tent city, which was located opposite Chet Singh Ghat in Varanasi.
Following the filing of the plea by the petitioner through Advocate Saurabh Tiwari, the NGT had constituted a seven-member joint committee in March 2023 to examine the allegations of environmental violations. The committee, upon inspection, flagged multiple violations of environmental laws and norms, leading to the imposition of compensation by state authorities.
According to the VDA, the tent city remained operational from January 15 to May 31, 2023. The Uttar Pradesh government subsequently decided not to permit the tent city in the following year, citing the pendency of the matter before the NGT.
The order is being seen as a significant reaffirmation of environmental safeguards for the Ganga river, reinforcing that commercial activities—howsoever temporary or tourism-driven—cannot override statutory environmental protections.
