Ludhiana's municipal corporation summoned by NGT over 15,000 tonnes of waste at New Sabzi Mandi.
In Tamil Nadu, officials attract notice regarding waste dumping along Chennimalai borders.
The NGT also requests details on an expert committee for Delhi's ozone pollution, emphasising the importance of addressing environmental challenges across regions.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the chief executive officer, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana (MCL) August 21, 2025 to appear virtually on the next date of hearing (November 17, 2025) and assist the court to address the issue of waste management within the premises of New Sabzi Mandi, Ludhiana, Punjab.
Punjab Mandi Board, through an affidavit dated August 19, 2025, stated that as on the date of filing of the affidavit, about 1,700 tonnes of legacy waste was cleared, and at two points around 900 tonnes of legacy waste was yet to be cleared.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) filed the affidavit on August 18, 2025, disclosing the status observed during site inspection conducted on July 17, 2025. The Sabji Mandi located at Bahadurke Road, Jalandhar bypass, Ludhiana was visited by the officer of the PPCB.
The report said that a huge amount of legacy waste and fresh municipal solid waste amounting to a total volume of about 15,000 tonnes was found dumped at the dumpsite inside the Sabji Mandi premises. MCL has designated the mandi premises as a secondary waste collection site for gathering municipal solid waste from surrounding areas. MCL employees on site reported that 40-45 garbage trucks are disposing of waste at the location.
MCL has also constructed / installed eight static compactors at site for compaction of solid waste and the same were in operational condition. The waste through compactors / packed containers is further shifted by MCL to the Tajpur road municipal solid waste dumpsite.
In spite of the operational compactors, huge amounts of fresh waste is dumped at site and fresh waste is also arriving at site. Mandi Board had removed some legacy waste from some locations of the mandi premises but it has been shifted to the dumpsite inside the mandi premises. This shows no in-situ management has been done at site by the mandi board, the report stated.
Further, the mandi board has not made any arrangement for in-situ management / composting of its daily organic waste till date and mixed waste is lying at site. Some fruits / vegetable waste was also found dumped along some roads inside the sabji mandi.
The PPCB report clearly stated that the legacy waste is lying on the mandi premises and no proper in-situ management / composting of daily generated waste has been made till date.
The matter of dumping of waste on forest boundaries at Chennimalai, Tamil Nadu was taken up by NGT on August 21, 2025. The tribunal directed notices to be issued to the district collector of Erode; the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and block development officer (block panchayat) of Chennimalai. The respondents have been directed to file their response before the southern zonal bench, Chennai.
The application was registered suo-motu on the basis of news item titled Farmers urge to curb garbage dumping on forest boundaries at Chennimalai in TN in the news publication New Indian Express August 11, 2025. The report concerns the disposal of significant amounts of waste along the edges of the reserve forest in Chennimalai, Erode district, posing risks to the environment and wildlife.
As per the article, a farmer from Pasuvapatti in Chennimalai, stated that the roads from Chennimalai to cities including Arachalur and Tiruppur pass through the reserve forest, and individuals are dumping garbage at many points along these stretches. The article mentioned that as per a social activist and advocate, the Chennimalai forest lacks larger wildlife but it still supports smaller creatures such as monkeys and foxes.
The dumping of garbage, particularly plastic waste, along the edges of the forest harms these animals. Moreover, some individuals burn the waste, causing pollution in the area.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was given four weeks’ time by NGT August 21, 2025 to indicate the proposed terms of reference for the expert committee on ozone pollution in Delhi and the experts who are proposed to be included in that committee.
The application registered suo-motu related to the rising level of ground level ozone in Delhi based on the news article in The Times of India titled Oh-zone! Why this prominent pollutant in Delhi air is becoming a cause for concern.
CPCB had suggested on December 20, 2024 that a comprehensive study be carried out by experts on the problem. "Considering the elevated levels of ozone that were observed during COVID-19 lockdown (April 2020) and that the ozone concentration is also influenced by transboundary movement, soil and biogenic emissions, a detailed study may be required with help of air quality experts in order to evaluate the reasons for higher ozone levels at various locations in Delhi, and further ozone formation modelling may be required to assess the contribution of transboundary, biogenic and anthropogenic sources," said CPCB in its report.
MoEFCC also took a similar stand on April 19, 2025 and said that there is the need for a more comprehensive understanding. The environment ministry recommended the constitution of an expert committee composed of experts in the relevant field.