Water body restoration
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on June 23, 2020 directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to prepare guidelines for the restoration of water bodies and also involve village communities for the purpose. The court was hearing an application for the restoration of a water body called the main pond or Sadar Talab of Kadaura town in Jalaun district.
A factual and action-taken report from the district magistrate of Jalaun and the UPPCB had stated that the sewage of Kadaura Nagar Panchayat was being disposed off into Sadar Talab due to which its water quality had been affected.
The NGT directed that immediate remedial action be taken on the matter. “The restoration of water bodies is significant for the protection of the environment, availability of drinking water, recharge of ground water, harvesting of rain water and microclimate,” the order said.
Bijnor sugar mill
The report of the UPPCB and district magistrate of Bijnor about the operation of boilers in the distillery unit of M / s Dhampur Sugar Mills affecting the health of students of Priyanka Modern Senior Secondary School, was made public on June 23.
The report recommended that a permanent wall / structure of adequate height be built and an automatic water sprinkler be installed to ensure that no dust made its way towards the school. It also suggested developing a dense green belt of trees towards the school boundary.
Shakurbasti railway station
The Northern Railway had not taken proper action in implementing the recommendations of the expert committee (constituted on the orders of the NGT) to control pollution due to the loading and unloading of cement at the Shakurbasti Railway Station in Delhi, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said in its report of June 22 to the NGT.
None of the cement companies involved in the operations at the site had submitted the revised plan to educate and protect the health of labourers, which was incorporated in the expert committee report.
The Expert Committee discussed the issue of levying environmental and health compensation.