The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on March 6, 2025, directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to respond to the allegations of water contamination leading to Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra’s Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas.
The authorities have been asked to disclose as to whether averments made in an application are correct and what action has been taken. The western bench of the NGT will next hear the case on April 16, 2025.
The application was filed by the law students with the prayers that PMC and PCMC be directed to ensure the supply of safe and clean drinking water to all areas affected by GBS disease and conduct periodic water quality monitoring, the said disease being mainly a water-borne disease.
It further asked that the district collector, Pune; Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Maharashtra should be directed to immediately identify and eliminate all sources of water contamination in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to prevent any further spread of the disease. Public Health Department, Maharashtra; Indian Council of Medical Research and Ministry of Urban Development, Maharashtra should be directed to provide immediate medical aid, treatment and financial assistance to those who are affected by GBS disease.
Further, PMC and PCMC should be directed to assess the water quality in all wells under their jurisdiction and eliminate contamination therein and restore them through decontamination, sealing and sustainable management. Respondent authorities should be held accountable under the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle and impose a penalty for negligence, leading to the spread of the disease in question.
The applicants said a total 166 cases of GBS have been diagnosed in Pune city. Five persons have died, 21 patients are still on ventilators and 61 patients are in ICU while 52 persons have been discharged from the hospital.
The counsel for the applicants also drew the court’s attention to the report of contamination of water which showed that samples of water taken at Kirkatwadi, Nanded and Dhayari areas were found to contain coliform bacteria and E-coli, which were on the higher side.
The MPCB, among others, was directed by the NGT on March 7, 2025 to reply to an application filed by Vishwajit Ramchandra Dixit regarding untreated sewage and wastewater contaminating land and flowing into the Bhima river in Pune, Maharashtra.
Others who have been asked to submit their reply include Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC); Satkarsthal Gram Panchayat; Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA); Rajgurunagar Municipal Council and district collector, Pune.
The issue raised in the application pertains to untreated severe sewage and waste water pollution emanating from 80 flats and 26 bungalow projects in the surrounding area of the farmland belonging to the applicant (Plot No.92/1, Rajgurunagar, Khed taluka, district Pune).
The counsel for the applicant submitted that the project comprising the flats and bungalows are likely to generate an estimated 10,00,000 litres of sewage daily from 2,000 households, which is said to be flowing towards the plot of the applicant, causing damage to his plot and thereafter, the same gets discharged into the Bhima river.
An application was filed in the western bench of the NGT against the Consolidated Consent and Authorization (CC&A) granted by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to a waste management facility.
Taking into consideration the urgency of the matter, the tribunal on March 7, 2025, directed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Eco Waste Management (EWM); MoEFCC and GPCB to submit their reply affidavits within two weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for March 21, 2025.
The issue raised in the application pertains to EWM not operating its facility and conducting its operations without waste treatment, which has resulted in accumulation of approximately 800-1,000 truckloads of hazardous waste at the plot 201 to 204, GIDC Palej, Palej village, Bharuch district, which was granted CC&A by GPCB. The CC&A is valid till December 31, 2027.
The counsel for the applicant submitted that noxious odours are emanating from the accumulated waste, affecting nearby localities, which may lead to fire incidents as well as contamination of ground water. GPCB had already issued closure directions to EWM on September 13, 2023, pursuant to their visit conducted on August 8, 2023, wherein various non-compliances were found. The applicant apprehended that it appears that at the time of grant of CC&A, GPCB might not have visited the site and granted the CC&A blindly.
The application asked that a direction may be issued for transportation, treatment and disposal of the hazardous waste using Environmentally Sound Technology (EST) through other HWM-TSDF by GPCB and cost/expenses incurred in this process may be recovered from EWM.