Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Remedial action taken by the state authorities in Kerala to control pollution in Ashtamudi and Vembanad-kol wetlands is inadequate, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said August 23, 2022.
This is a serious violation of Water Act, 1974 as well as Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, the court noted.
NGT directed the setting up of a monitoring committee headed by the additional chief secretary, Environment. The other members of the committee include director of tourism; director of local bodies; director of Industries; director of panchayat; Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority; Kerala State Pollution Control Board; Central Pollution Control Board and the State Wetland Authority.
A restoration plan should be prepared, which would take care of the cost of restoration and measures to be adopted as well as the manner of execution, the tribunal suggested.
Monitoring meetings should be held at least once a fortnight and the minutes should be placed on the website of the state pollution control board, the bench of justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Sudhir Agarwal said.
Krishna Das KV had filed an application before the NGT February 24, 2022 highlighting the failure of the authorities to take remedial action for protecting the two wetlands, which are Ramsar sites in the Kollam district of Kerala.
The wetland has become a polluted drain of the Kollam city due to dumping of pharmaceutical waste, plastic waste, domestic waste, slaughter-house waste and innumerous other sources, the applicant said.
The report filed by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board August 17, 2022 acknowledged that huge pollution was being caused to the lakes by the discharge of untreated sewage and other wastes.
The report further mentioned that sources of pollution include boat breaking activities which were resulting in deposition, and burning of the solid wastes on the banks, damaging the mangroves.
Aquaculture and fish processing units were also polluting the waterbodies,
The NGT Western Zone Bench, Pune directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to file an affidavit clearly stating whether the activity of chemical treatment plant for bamboo processing would fall in non-forestry activity or not. And if yes, then it requires permission for diversion of forest land.
The Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board has been operating a chemical treatment plant for bamboo processing within the Gorewada Reserve Forest, Nagpur.
MoEFCC, in its reply affidavit, said that the approval of the central government under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is required for carrying any non-forestry activity on forest land. No proposal for diversion of forest land has been received from the Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board, it added.
NGT directed developer Rhythm Country to pay compensation of Rs 5 crore within two months to the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board. The amount will be utilised for restoration measures in the light of the District Environment Plan.
The order was in response to the violation of environmental norms by Rhythm Country in setting up a construction project at Autade Handewadi, Haveli, Pune.
Construction had commenced without requisite environmental clearance (EC) or requisite consent under the Air Act, 1981 and Water Act, 1974. The Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) issued a show-cause notice January 3, 2020 declining consent under the air and water acts.
In spite of the SPCB order, the construction work of the project did not stop and the project proponent completed the construction, the court observed.
NGT directed the district collector of Aurangabad August 23, 2022 to submit a report after marking the blue and red floodlines of Kham river.
An application was filed before the western bench of NGT in response to a news report published in The Indian Express pertaining to the untreated sewage flowing into the river.
The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), in its affidavit, stated that AMC is operating four sewage treatment plants of 211 million litres per day (MLD) capacity against the current rate of sewage generation of 96 MLD.
The plants are designed to serve the future population to the year 2030. A total of 186 underground drainage lines have been completed till date.
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