Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to file a report on the alleged illegal felling of 6,000 trees in Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand. The principal bench of NGT took suo moto cognisance of the matter on April 17, 2023 based on a media report.
Some 600 trees have been illegally cut in Corbett Tiger Reserve’s Kalagarh tiger reserve division, the report stated.
The NGT had asked the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to submit a report after assessing the status of illegally felled trees. The information given by FSI showed that the authorities exceeded the permitted limit and illegally felled more than 163 trees.
The NGT directed a committee to investigate allegations of a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) polluting the Sonpatra River. The committee will assess the environmental damage caused by the CETP run by Lote Parshuram Environment Protection Cooperative Society Ltd.
The tribunal, while responding to an application on April 17, 2023, asked the committee to assess the adequacy of CETP and devise a plan to restore the riverine ecosystem. The petitioner alleged that CETP has been discharging untreated effluent into the Sonpatra River through a damaged pipeline.
The NGT, on April 17, ordered the construction of a road in the Kailash Kund-Seoz Dhar region in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir to be halted.
The tribunal directed the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of Police, Doda, to take steps to prevent constructions that violate the NGT order. The NGT also directed the chief engineer, Public Works Department and the divisional forest officer, Bharderwah, to appear before it on May 25, 2023.
The NGT, on April 19, expressed its displeasure over the tardy waste management in Dughneri village, Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh. The tribunal granted another opportunity for the state government to meet compliance and listed the matter for further consideration on July 21.
An application filed before the NGT complained of the violation of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, in Dughneri.
The waste generated here is being burnt, causing air pollution, diseases, livestock loss, forest fires and loss of wildlife. There has been an increase in the population of monkeys, feral dogs and other scavengers, the application stated.
The matter was last considered on January 16, 2023, in light of a report filed by the municipal council, Hamirpur, which showed that legacy waste was yet to be remediated.
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