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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) stated on September 25, 2024 that the mishandling of solid waste in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh breaches environmental regulations. The tribunal instructed the authorities to submit a response by the next hearing on January 20, 2025.
Neeraj Tiwari, the applicant, argued that the Baswar plant, established for solid waste treatment, lacks sufficient capacity. As a result, legacy waste is accumulating both within the Baswar plant premises and in the surrounding areas.
The plea of the applicant is that in 2024, the Allahabad High Court had recorded the accumulation of 300,000 tonnes of legacy waste at the premises of the plant.
The counsel for the applicant has referred to the photographs filed showing unsegregated waste lying scattered not only on the premises in question but also outside it and pointed out that it is not transported properly in the trucks.
He submitted that this improper handling of waste is polluting River Yamuna, which is located 300 metres from the storage point. The application also alleged about the pollution was caused on account of leachate generated from this solid waste.
NGT directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) September 25, 2024 to constitute an expert committee comprising multidiscipline specialists to find out the effect of asbestos sheets in educational institutions on children.
The committee has also been entrusted to see whether the health hazards to students (non-occupational) is the same as that applicable to workers in the industrial sector.
The next hearing of the case has been listed for November 26, 2024.
The eastern bench of NGT September 24, 2024 directed the deputy commissioner of West Garo Hills, Meghalaya to submit a report on illegal sand mining taking place in Rongai river and identify the violators.
The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board; MoEF&CC; and deputy commissioner, West Garo Hills was directed to file their counter affidavits within four weeks.
An article in the newspaper Shillong Times June 29, 2024 reported the erosion of the banks of the Rongai valley project in Chibinang in West Garo Hills. It was stated that the water of River Rongai continues to make inroads by taking away more and more soil every time the river is in full flow.
The article said that this is taking place due to a barricade that has been placed in the middle of the river near the place where the main dam of the project was envisioned many decades ago. Furthermore, uncontrolled and illegal sand mining from the same river has also contributed to the problem.
The news item also mentioned that large chunks of land have been washed away along the banks. It is stated that every year, due to this barricade, the flow of the river is disturbed and it puts huge pressure on the banks nearby. This has led to erosion and loss of land.
The article claimed that the barricade has created an artificial island as no water has been flowing beyond it. Had the natural flow of the water been maintained, the flow would have been smoother and less dangerous to those who live nearby, the report stated. Erosion could have been stopped with just a few measures, it added.
NGT September 25, 2024 directed the National Wetland Committee to file its reply within a period of eight weeks regarding mixing of sewage in stormwater drain, resulting in the contamination of Naya Johad, Dwarka, Delhi.
The counsel for the Union of India has sought four weeks to file a response on the matter, while the Delhi Jal Board assured the court that a reply would be filed soon.
The applicant's complaints pertained to the ongoing discharge of wastewater and sewage through the stormwater drain situated along a road in Dwarka. The contamination of Naya Johad due to sewage being mixed into stormwater drains was also an objection mentioned in the application.