Kullu Hydro Projects: NGT issues notices on Thunja village's opposition to unsafe blasting in eco-zone; hearing April 2.
Wariana Dumpsite: NGT directs Punjab authorities' response to unscientific legacy waste dumping; listing March 17.
Puri Waste Facility: NGT notes affidavit on Baliapanda MRF plans, biogas initiative, bio-mining completion.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) February 10, 2026 took up the application filed by the people from Thunja village in Bhunter tehsil, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh against the construction of two adjacent 5-megawatt small hydro electric projects — Kasol SHEP (5 MW) and Grahan-Kasol SHEP (5 MW).
The applicants said that both the projects involve tunnelling, pipeline laying and controlled blasting along the hillside and the stream system called Grahan nallah, which is the single source of supply of drinking water to the applicants.
The applicants further said that blasting has commenced without any slope-stability assessment, vibration-impact study, hydrological baseline, or disaster-risk appraisal for the village.
It was also the allegation of the applicants that both the projects are within the notified Eco-Sensitive Zone of the Kanawar Wildlife Sanctuary, and the core components of the Grahan-Kasol SHEP fall inside the mapped Sanctuary boundary itself.
The applicants have pointed to the joint inspection report and have submitted that the joint inspection was done in 2016 and it was found that slopes are unstable. He submitted that villagers are feeling the vibrations of the blast which has made them insecure.
The tribunal directed notice to be issued to the respondents — state of Himachal Pradesh; Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; Secretary Jal Shakti Vibhag; Chief Engineer (Commercial) Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEBL), among others. The respondents have to submit their response and the case has been scheduled for next hearing on April 2, 2026.
Authorities were directed to submit their response on the complaint of unscientific dumping and creation of a legacy dump at Wariana dumpsite in Wariana village, Jalandhar, Punjab.
The NGT February 10, 2026 directed notices to be issued to the Punjab Pollution Control Board; Urban Development Department; Divisional Commissioner Jalandhar; Additional Chief Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab among others for the respondents to submit their response. The case has been scheduled for listing on March 17, 2026.
The applicant, Tejasvi Minhas, complained about the illegal and excessive dumping of waste in the dumpsite. It is the oldest dump site in Jalandhar having the houses around it, according to the applicant. Further plea of the applicant is that there is about 2 million tonnes of legacy waste lying in the dump site and everyday 500–700 tonnes of unsegregated waste is dumped by Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar at the site which is adding to the legacy waste.
The applicant said that the dump site consists of a mix of totally unsegregated dry, wet, organic, inorganic, domestic, commercial, recyclable, non-recyclable, medical and bio-hazardous waste. The applicant has also enclosed photographs showing the nature of the dump which has been created at the site, frequent fires which are taking place and leachate which is flowing from that site.
The Puri Municipality is planning to set up a mega material recovery facility (MRF) in the cleared area of Baliapanda dumping yard. A draft request for proposal (RFP) for 100 tonnes per day Mega MRF for processing of dry waste has been prepared and submitted to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Department, December 23, 2025.
This was stated in the affidavit filed by the Collector and the District Magistrate of Puri, Odisha in February 11, 2026.
The report also stated that the Odisha government, in collaboration with Oil India Ltd, has undertaken an initiative to establish seven compressed biogas plants for processing wet waste at different locations of the state, including Puri-Konark (cluster mode) through letter November 29, 2025. Accordingly, land measuring 10 acres has been identified.
The construction of the boundary wall around the dumping yard has been completed to an extent of 449 metres and construction for an additional 200 metres is presently in progress. The delay in completion is attributable to a dispute that arose during demarcation. The bio-mining of legacy waste of 3,91,904 MT has been completed by the agency and the area has been cleared.
Emphasis has been given on door-to-door collection of waste through 'Swachha Savaris' in a segregated manner so that dry wastes are sent to MRF centres and wet waste is sent to micro composting centres for processing. However, due to heavy tourist footfall, mixed waste was also collected from public places.
The mixed fresh waste is put in one small part of the demarcated area of Baliapanda dumping yard. For daily processing of the mixed waste to avoid legacy waste phenomenon, Puri municipality is in the process of setting up a processing unit by a specialised agency following the direction of Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
A draft request for proposal has been prepared for selection of agency which has been sent to the Housing Urban Development Department for examination, vetting and approval of the government on December 30, 2025. Housing Urban Development department, vide letter January 27, 2026 has made some observations on the draft RFP and asked to resubmit the revised RFP. The revised draft RFP has been submitted February 4, 2026.