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The National Green Tribunal directed the municipal council of Bhilwara, Rajasthan January 16, 2025 to take necessary steps to ensure that there is no discharge of untreated water into the Gandhi Sagar lake.
According to the report filed by the State Pollution Control Board, there is a huge gap between the existing number of sewage treatment plants and the number required by norm for treating sewage water, the bench of Justice Sheo Kumar Singh noted.
The application has raised issues of encroachment as well as discharge of untreated water, effluents and municipal solid waste into the lake, contaminating it.
A joint committee report stated that a wide open nallah (drain) was joining the inlet catchment / entrance point of the lake. The nallah has been designated for rainwater flow to the lake and also has sluice gates at the intake point.
But it was observed to be heavily chocked with garbage and municipal solid and plastic waste, and no cleaning or screening facility was observed at the site, noted the report.
Before 2024, various untapped drains were joining this nallah, carrying heavy flow of untreated sewage into the lake. But after installation of the sewer line project attached with sewage treatment plant of 30 MLD, untreated sewage quantum reaching to the nallah has reduced.
As per the information provided by municipal corporation, around 1-1.5 MLD sewage-mixed water was flowing into the lake.
This sewage is from commercial establishments located on the Badla Chouraha road, non-connected commercial shops and establishments with sewer line, households located in nearby colonies that lack sewer connectivity and other untapped minor drains coming from across Chittorgarh Road area and ultimately joining the Gandhi Sagar Badla nallah.
Bulk of the garbage and plastic waste was also found floating at the inlet and overflow points as well as corner pockets of the lake area.
Status of accumulation and floating plastic garbage revealed that cleaning of screens, intake and corner pocket areas were not being done regularly.
The central bench of NGT directed January 13, 2025 the chairperson / ex-officio / district collector of Jaipur for monitoring the eco-sensitive zone of the Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary and compliance of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) notification to ensure constructions in the area don't flout environmental rules.
The matter related to the violation of notification issued by MoEF&CC March 8, 2019 on the Nahargarh Wildlife Sanctuary range located in the Amer hills of the Aravalli range in Jaipur district, Rajasthan. The applicant contended that constructions were taking place in violation of environmental rules.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been diligently working to prevent mosquito breeding in and around a drain in Greater Kailash 1 by regularly desilting and cleaning the drain. This was stated in a report filed by MCD to NGT January 13, 2025.
In a suo motu application, the tribunal was investigating the problem of an unbearable odour emanating from a drain next to a park in Greater Kailash I, South Delhi, which was attracting large numbers of mosquitoes.
The report by MCD stated that till January 4, 2025 no action had been taken by DJB to address the issue. "Neither any official from DJB visited the site in presence of MCD officials or DPCC officials nor informed any schedule of their visit at the drain behind Krishi Vihar".
The concerned area field staff / malaria inspector of the department has, however, been taking adequate measures to prevent mosquitoes breeding around the drain.
"The zonal entomologist of South Zone-MCD has also inspected the locality and also the alleged drain on September 9, 2024 and reported that no mosquito breeding is there in the drain and in its surrounding area and the drain is flowing freely without any clogging and congestion," the report said.
When the joint inspection along with Delhi Pollution Control Committee was carried out on September 19, 2024 at a stormwater drain adjacent to B, R and S blocks of GK1, mosquitoes were not observed near the drain. In fact, the the drain was found clean without waste dumping.
The Delhi Jal Board had trapped the R&S block drain near Krishi Vihar DDA park, 30-40 metres before the outfall, by constructing a 2 metre high wall, due to which the water was stagnated upstream of the nallah.
The desilting work of R and S block drains had been carried out by deploying manual labourers. Around 38.6 MT of silt was extracted from the drain and sent to the landfill site in Okhla. MCD maintained the flow of water in the drain regularly and checked the quantum of silt from time to time, the report noted.