KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan on Thursday were given permission by the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) eastern zone to play their I-League home matches at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, club officials confirmed.
"Rabindra Sarobar is our home now. We will play our matches there. We are yet to receive the verdict letter but the decision was intimated to us," a Bagan official told IANS.
Bagan had appealed an NGT verdict which ruled them out of playing at the venue due to environmental issues.
A bench comprising Justice SP Wangdi and expert member PC Mishra on Thursday let Mohun Bagan use the stadium in an ecologically sensitive region subject to them fulfilling conditions it had imposed on Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) in the third edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). They include a 10m high black screen on the perimeter to prevent flood lights from spilling out.
The Rabindra Sarovar Lake was declared a national lake in 2002 and is protected under the National Lake Conservation Plan. The area, including 73 acres of water body, spreads over 192 acres in south Kolkata and is home to different species of birds and animals.
Mohun Bagan are paying ATK around Rs10 million for the use of the stadium, a club official told Hindustan Times. Why? Because it is ATK that has refurbished the stadium and currently has usage rights over it. Just installing floodlights cost the ISL franchise Rs70 million, an ATK official told HT.
Mohun Bagan's first home match was held at the Barasat Stadium, where they won 1-0 against Churchill Brothers.
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