Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and North MLA Madan Lal Bagga inaugurated a sub-tehsil building in the North Assembly segment on Tuesday even as a National Green Tribunal (NGT) inquiry pertaining to the site is pending.
The NGT case pertains to allegations of the building coming up on a designated green belt area along the Old GT Road, near the Buddha Nullah.
The controversy stems from an application filed before the NGT by the Public Action Committee (PAC), a citizen’s collective.
Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, however, said they had taken a no-objection certificate from the municipal corporation (MC).
“We have taken an NOC from the MC. I will still ask the officials concerned to look into the matter,” he added.
In July last year, the PAC alleged that the area designated for food vending zone, sewa kendra and a green belt was used to construct the building. The issue is part of a larger case concerning alleged encroachments on green belts and public parks by government agencies, including the MC, Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) and the Greater Ludhiana Area development Authority (GLADA).
The complaint claimed the said building was earlier a health centre, and now been renovated and turned into the sub-tehsil. The activists claimed the construction was in violation of provisions of the city’s Master Plan, environmental norms and directions issued by the NGT regarding protection of green belts.
In March 2026, the NGT issued notices to the District Magistrate, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change over alleged non-compliance of its earlier orders on green belt encroachments.
According to PAC member Kapil Arora, no meaningful change was seen on ground despite the NGT constituting a joint committee to verify encroachments and initiate remedial action.
The activists informed the tribunal that construction for a tehsil office had commenced within the disputed green belt area while the matter was still under consideration.
Arora added the next hearing is scheduled in July.
“I will add all the building pictures and application regarding the sub-tehsil encroaching on green belt area,” he added.
The NGT had earlier taken a strict view of constructions raised on green belts in the city, and directed civic authorities to remove structures in violation of environmental norms and the Master Plan. The tribunal has repeatedly emphasised the need to preserve green spaces and prevent their conversion for non-permissible uses.
