According to the order 8 applicants are seeking a direction to the respondents restraining them from the sand filling work of the river basin of Baitarani on the South Bank at the place where river Baitarani bifurcates as Old Baitarani and New Baitarani in the Bhadrak District of Odisha.
The Allahabad High Court division Bench said that it is the lifeline of India because it provides water to 40% of India’s population. It is a source of irrigation for a wide variety of crops.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Department of Water Resources, Central Water Commission, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu governments, among others, over the proposed dam on the Cauvery river.