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New Delhi, January 15
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to identify “seriously polluting” industries located on the banks of the Ganga and apprise it about “quantity and quality” of discharge generated by them in the river.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed both state governments to inform it about the number of teams required for inspecting these “seriously polluting” industries from Haridwar to Kanpur. “The Uttarakhand Department of Urban Development shall inform the NGT about the complete programme in relation to discharge of any sewage or effluent into the Ganga. It will state the quantity and quality of discharge. The Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UPCB) and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) shall submit an analysis report to the NGT positively before the next date of hearing,” the bench, also comprising Justice UD Salvi, said.
The green panel also ordered a joint inspection by a team comprising officials from the Central Pollution Control Board, the UPPCB, the UPCB and a representative from the Environment Ministry at points where tributaries of the river from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh meet the Ganga.
“They will clearly state the quality of water, quantum of effluents and sewage that is containing in each of these tributaries or river,” the bench said.
The bench directed the Uttarakhand government to take a clear stand on industrial pockets located in Haridwar within two weeks.
Earlier, the NGT had directed the Centre not to release funds for cleaning the river from Gomukh to Kanpur without its nod, chiding the two states for failing to identify the serious polluting locations.
Irked at the “lackadaisical approach” of officials of the two states for failing to enumerate the causes for pollution and the locations affected, the bench had asked the Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, through the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), not to release funds to the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments without its approval.— PTI
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