The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on October 31, 2025, demanded an explanation from Maharashtra on the discrepancies in the report filed by the state on waste management, especially legacy waste management. The bench of Justice Prakash Shrivastava expressed dissatisfaction with the report and said correct disclosures have not been made in it.
The quantity of legacy waste for the urban local body (ULB) Achalpur in Amravati district in August 2022 was 41,767 MT. The present quantity of legacy waste has come down to 35,415 MT and there is no addition of unprocessed waste in it, the court pointed out.
However, in another part of the report, it is mentioned that there is a gap of 53.7 MT in waste generation and processing, meaning thereby “at least this much quantity as reflected in the gap is daily added in the legacy waste”.
For ULB Aaheri in Gajrauli district and ULB Ahalya Nagar in Ahalya Nagar district, the disclosure concerning the quantity of legacy waste has been made. It has been stated that the addition to the legacy waste in these 2 ULBs is zero whereas in the chart concerning gap of daily generation and treatment, the details of the 2 ULBs are missing.
For ULB Ahmedpur in Latur district, the report mentioned that the quantity of legacy waste reported in August 2022 was 13,580 MT. This remained the same as on the date of filing the report and there was zero addition to the legacy waste, whereas in the gap analysis the disclosure about Ahmedpur showed that there is a gap of 0.005. This means that much quantity of unprocessed waste is added daily in the legacy waste.
The NGT said correct disclosures have not been made in the report. An opportunity was given to the counsel representing Maharashtra, but no explanation was given. The counsel also tried to contact the authorities concerned virtually but the attempt was unsuccessful. The court will next hear the case on November 26, 2025.
The NGT directed a three-member joint committee on October 30, 2025, to look into the allegations of violations in the operation of the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) at Sanganer, operated by Sanganer Enviro Project Development (SEPD), under consultancy of Eco Enviro Engineers, Jaipur, and in association with Sanganer Kapda Rangai Chapai Association (SKRCA).
The central bench of the NGT called for a report from the committee comprising of one representative each from the district collector, Jaipur; Central Ground Water Board (Rajasthan) and Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB). The committee was directed to visit the site and submit the factual and action taken report.
The application said there was illegal discharge of untreated hazardous wastewater into a local drain, which was also used by nearby textile units for unlawful disposal. An unauthorised outlet pipeline, possibly absent from the approved CETP project outline, was suspected of being used for effluent discharge.
There was also a complaint regarding an unmarked bore well within the CETP’s premises, extracting groundwater without CGWA/CGWB permission. Monitoring systems like flow meters/OCEMS have been tampered with, producing misleading compliance data.
There was absence of both outlet pipeline and bore well, possibly absent in the official CETP layout, raising concerns of regulatory negligence by the RSPCB, Jaipur (South), the complaint filed before the NGT said.
The NGT on October 31, 2025, directed the state of Madhya Pradesh to ensure that non-forest activity should not be permitted at Shankargarh Nagar Van. It also directed the state forest department to maintain the existing vegetation along with its biodiversity, including fauna.
The state government should provide necessary funds to the forest department to carry out plantation of long-lasting multipurpose tree species of local origin in gaps existing in Shankargarh Nagar Van.
Effective protection should be provided by the forest department with the support of locals to maintain it for posterity. The authorities have to ensure that no trees should be damaged or cut without due permission from the competent authority, the order said.
The matter related to non-forest activity at Shankargarh Nagar Van and Biodiversity Park, Dewas. The applicant said the transfer of the Shankargarh Hills to the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Department is against the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980.
The counsel for the state of Madhya Pradesh submitted that upon due consideration of environmental concerns, the state government had taken the decision to abandon the project.
The counsel and the applicant submitted that the area would be developed as a green belt and would be handed over to the forest department for protection and development by means of plantation and its maintenance.