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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed an order August 13, 2024 stating that rules specified in the Water Act of 1974 and the Solid Waste Management Rules must be followed strictly to preserve River Betwa. In case of any violations, necessary actions should be taken to address the problem of releasing untreated water or sewage into the river.
According to the Municipal Council of Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, the city's wastewater from Gaushala Nalla, Chorghat Nalla, and Piliya Nalla will be addressed under AMRUT 2.0. The water will be intercepted, diverted, and treated through a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 22.25 million litres per day. For solid waste management, the Municipal Council operates a door-to-door collection system in Vidisha town. Additionally, a special drive should be conducted by the council to collect solid waste from the Betwa River in Vidisha town during festive seasons.
The report also recommended removing silt and waste deposits from the riverbed near the ghats to achieve an appropriate river depth. The NGT noted that the report indicated sewage water from drains such as Chorghat nalla, Gaushala nalla, and Piliya nalla is being intercepted, diverted, and treated at sewage treatment plants.
The eastern bench of the NGT, August 13, 2024 instructed the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) and the state's mining department to consistently oversee illegal mining activities and to strictly implement the Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines 2016 and the Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining 2020. Any violations should be met with stringent action as per the regulations.
The NGT's central zonal bench expressed contentment with the measures implemented by the authorities to combat illegal mining and its transportation. The report also indicated that environmental compensation through penalties has been collected and deposited into the state treasury.
The issue pertains to illegal mining activities in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. According to the article, a joint team from the mineral, police, environment, and revenue departments took action on 95 cases, generating a revenue of Rs 26 lakh, and sealed 18 crusher mines in the district for breaching environmental regulations.
The Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board reported that the Mining Officer from the Collector's Office (Mineral branch) in District Bilaspur indicated 19 cases of illegal mineral mining were registered in the district. Offenders were fined a total of Rs 12,35,976.
Additionally, 73 cases of illegal transportation were recorded, with 52 resolved through penalties amounting to Rs 11,98,322 under Sections 21 and 23(a) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. There were also 6 cases of illegal mineral storage, resulting in Rs 2,54,400 being recovered.
Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board was directed by NGT August 13 to ensure the enforcement of rule of law, compliance of environmental and forest protection rules with respect to running of saw mills in village Lalsot, district Dausa, Rajasthan.
Furthermore, a clear distinction should be made between saw mills operating with full authorisation from the competent authorities and those that are not, and a decision should be taken according to the rules immediately, the order stated.
The applicant, Vinod Kumar Sharma, mentioned that some 333 saw mills are functioning in the area, of which only 59 have the necessary permissions, while 274 are operating without the required authorisation or license.