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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on November 3, 2025, directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to submit a report on the issue of pollution caused by colonies on ‘O’ zone making Yamuna water toxic.
There is discharge of untreated sewage from these colonies which affects the water quality of the Yamuna, the court noted.
The O zone comprises the entire floodplain along the 22-km stretch of the Yamuna in the city, according to the Master Plan Delhi 2021. No construction is allowed in the area and ownership of property in the zone is not permitted.
The affidavit filed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on October 31, 2025, stated that these colonies on the ‘O’ zone are part of the list of 1,731 unauthorised colonies identified by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and are protected under Section 3 of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011. This protection is to continue till December 31, 2026.
The date of the next hearing is on February 3, 2026.
The NGT on November 4, 2025, directed the Appellate Authority to hear the matter of unauthorised construction and encroachment on the drain near Deccan Valley under Mauja Tapovan in Narendranagar located in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district.
Since prompt remediation of environmental issues is essential to prevent irreversible environmental damage, “the Appellate Authority is directed to dispose of the appeals expeditiously preferably within two months so that further action for remediation of environmental damage caused by encroachments on the drain may be taken”. The NGT directed that the copy of the court order should be sent to the Revisional Authority through the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand for requisite compliance.
Orders for demolition/removal of encroachment passed in the case are stated to have been stayed by the Revisional Authority, the court was informed.
The committee has identified encroachment on the drain near Deccan Valley under Mauja Tapovan on December 5, 2024, the district magistrate of Tehri Garhwal’s report on August 7, 2025, stated.
During inspection, it was found that a total of six multi-storey buildings have been constructed / are under construction at the site on the left side of the drain in the north direction of National Highway 58 in Mauja Tapovan.
Of the six multi-storey buildings, four were found to be partially within the limits of the drain. During the inspection by the committee, it was also found that the building owners have taken sewer connections. The area of the site in question is less than 20,000 square meters, and the construction work has been found to be outside the limit of the 100-year flood frequency, according to the records.
At present, proceedings are going on against four illegal encroachers.
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board filed a report before the NGT on November 4, 2025, regarding the steps taken by the state to clean its shores of plastic waste.
The irrigation department has reported that plastic and organic waste primarily enters into coastal waters via estuaries, according to the report. The Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) is responsible for removing this waste from coastal waters and reefs.
To address inland sources, the irrigation department has issued an NOC to Plastic Fischeres, an agency to facilitate the periodic removal of plastic waste from surface water bodies (thodus).
The joint director of LSGD has informed that door-to-door collection is done in all wards of the corresponding 13 coastal Panchayats and that there are 290 collection centres. About six coastal Panchayats have documented the action taken for plastic waste management and four Panchayats have initiated removal of plastic waste from coastal waters and reefs.
Nine coastal local bodies have provided facilities for periodic removal of plastic waste from surface water bodies. Ten Panchayats implement tracking of waste transporting vehicles. The Varkala municipality also ensures that the plastic waste is reaching the designated destination. Fines are imposed by Poovar Panchayat on the defaulters.
The cleaning of the plastic nurdles (tiny plastic pellets) following the sinking of the Liberian flagged vessel MSC ELSA 3 is in progress on the shores of Thiruvananthapuram. The cleaning and transport of the nurdles is being done by the salvaging company MERC under the supervision of various government departments, including the Kerala Pollution Control Board.
The cleaned nurdles are presently stored in Kollam Port. The total quantity of nurdles recovered from the shores and stored in Kollam Port is 367,587 kg as on October 30, 2025.
The District Tourism Promotion Council, Harbour Engineering Departments, Inland Navigation and Directorate of Tourism has not submitted any action taken report so far. Proper coordination from the stakeholder departments is solicited to ensure the effective implementation of the action plan.
The implementation of the action plan is an ongoing process and the action taken by the entire stakeholder departments will be reviewed in the District Level Monitoring Committee meetings and progress updated from time to time, the report stated.
The NGT had taken suo motu cognizance based on the news item published in the Hindu on June 7, 2023, titled Study finds disturbing evidence of marine plastic pollution off Kerala coast.