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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) August 23, 2024 directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest, through its regional office, Chandigarh and chief secretary, Haryana among others to submit their report regarding the complaint about reconstruction activities at Ansals Aravali Retreat in Raisina, Gurugram just two weeks after the district administration ordered the demolition of illegal farmhouses in the vicinity.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Haryana, Haryana Space Application Center and District Magistrate, Gurugram were also directed to file their reply by way of affidavit before the tribunal. The case will be next heard on December 3, 2024.
The application was registered suo motu on the basis of the news item which appeared in The Times of India July 28, 2024. The story noted that the reconstruction activities do not just involve razed buildings being rebuilt but also clearing of more protected land, construction of new roads and installation of electricity poles.
Moroever, several farmhouses which were demolished earlier have already been rebuilt, while the ones that were razed 15 days ago are in the process of being reconstructed.
Many people were also found to be buying land in the area, even though they know that the government has prohibited construction and demolished numerous illegal structures, including farmhouses and boundary walls, in the past.
The article mentioned that Raisina hills and Aravali Retreat act as a wildlife corridor between Sariska National Park and Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, and are therefore in need of conservation and removal of illegal structures and activities.
NGT said that the news item highlighted brazen flouting of environmental norms, with glaring gaps in compliance of Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was directed by NGT August 23, 2024 to file its response regarding salt and sugar brands in India that contain microplastics.
The Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Indian Council of Medical Research and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India were also directed by the court to file their reply at least one week before the next date of hearing on December 3, 2024.
NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of a story titled All Indian salt Sugar brands contain microplastics reveals study that appeared in the Business Standard August 13, 2024.
The news report related to a study that revealed the presence of microplastics in all Indian salt and sugar brands, in various forms, including fibre, pellets, films and fragments.
The study tested 10 types of salt, including table salt, rock salt, sea salt and local raw salt, as well as five types of sugar purchased from both online and local markets. The highest levels of microplastics were found in iodised salt, in the form of multi-coloured thin fibre and films, the report indicated.
The NGT August 23 directed the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare to file a reply on the wide variations found among popular varieties of rice in India in their ability to use nitrogen. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and CPCB were also directed to file their response on the matter.
An application was registered suo motu on the basis of a news item which appeared in the newspaper The Hindu August 11, 2024. As per the article, newer varieties of rice should be developed that use less nitrogen and are high-yielding, thus slashing expenditure on imported fertilisers and reducing nitrogen-linked pollution.
The article stated that nearly 11 per cent of global anthropogenic emissions in 2020 were from India, topped only by China at 16 per cent. The major source of these emissions was fertiliser usage, according to a global assessment of N2O emissions.