The National Green Tribunal (NGT), February 25, 2025, directed Meghalaya government, through the chief Secretary, to file a response regarding the dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated during the construction of the Jowai Bypass. Other concerned authorities, including the district magistrate of Jowai and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), were also instructed to submit their responses.
The applicant, through a letter petition, raised concerns about the dumping of muck generated during road construction, which has damaged the river ecology, affecting aquatic life, flora, and fauna.
On November 21, 2024, the NGT had directed the formation of a joint committee to investigate the matter and submit a report. The CPCB filed the committee’s report on February 10, 2025, stating that along the entire stretch of the Jowai Bypass, excavated earth, including soil and stones, had been dumped down the valley.
The Joint Committee found that Jowai town lacked an authorised dump site, collection centre, or processing facility for C&D waste, as required under the C&D Waste Management Rules, 2016. During the site visit, it was also noted that no inventory or records were maintained for the C&D waste generated from the project. Additionally, no waste management plan or the necessary approvals from the local authority, as mandated by the C&D Waste Management Rules, 2016, were provided.
While no significant impact of C&D waste on the water quality of the Myntdu River was observed, the dumping was found to cause siltation.
Furthermore, the Joint Committee highlighted that municipal solid waste (MSW) from nearby areas of Jowai town was being indiscriminately dumped into the valley along the Jowai-Dawki road. This improper disposal underscores serious deficiencies in the collection, storage, and transportation of MSW by the local municipal authorities. The Committee also noted the absence of a solid waste processing facility in the town.
Taking into account the claims made in the application filed by Hardeep Sharma regarding illegal tree felling, along with the findings of the Joint Committee, the NGT, on February 24, 2025, directed the state of Uttarakhand, through the chief secretary, to file its response.
Other authorities instructed to submit their responses include the district magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar, the Dehradun office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Tarai West Forest Division in Ramnagar and the Uttarakhand State Pollution Control Board (UKSPCB).
Additionally, some residents (respondents) from Chandpur village, Tehsil Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar, were also directed to respond.
The NGT will next hear the case on April 7, 2025. The court has also ordered the personal appearance of the member secretary of the UKPCB and the principal chief conservator of forests (head of forest force) of Uttarakhand, instructing them to present relevant records.
Hardeep Sharma, the applicant, had submitted a letter petition dated January 9, 2024, alleging that in Chandpur-Pratapur village, Udham Singh Nagar, a colony was being developed for residential plotting. While permission had been granted for the felling of 150 trees, more than 600 trees had already been cut.
On November 7, 2024, the NGT directed the formation of a joint committee to submit a factual report. The MoEF&CC filed the committee’s report on January 27, 2025, stating that a total of 264 trees had been felled without permission on private land.
The Forest Department has already recovered Rs 4,44,000 from the violators as compensation for the unauthorised felling of 88 trees, under the Protection of Trees Act, 1976. Additionally, a case has been registered by the DFO, Tarai West Ramnagar, for the illegal felling of 176 trees. The Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board has also imposed an environmental compensation fine of Rs 67,26,375 on the violators.