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) August 24, 2022, directed a joint committee to look into the matter regarding pollution of the Krishna river in Sangli, Maharashtra and submit a report within four weeks.
Sunil Pharate, district head of the Swatantra Bharat Paksh, a political party in Maharashtra, had filed an application July 24 before the NGT’s Western Zone Bench in Pune.
Pharate had drawn attention to the discharge of untreated effluent into the Krishna by several industries situated near Mouje Digraj village. He had also filed a complaint regarding this but no action was taken.
He has also referred to news reports about fish kills and damage to biodiversity due to the discharge.
Pharate said the inspections carried out by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had cited effluent released by sugar mills and other industries located upstream into the Krishna as the cause of fish kills.
The NGT August 23 directed the Madhya Pradesh government to follow the Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines 2016 as well as Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining, 2020.
The tribunal added that the government must also enforce mechanisms for the preparation of:
The court order came in response to an application filed regarding illegal sand mining being carried out along the Narmada river in the Chipaner and Chouraskhedi villages in Sehore district with tractors, dumpers and trollies.
The Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board to strictly enforce the timings (from 6 am to 7 pm) during which only the M/S Himalaya Stone Industry & Others can operate.
The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) informed the apex court that periodic inspections had been carried out as ordered by the SC and the decibel level was within limit (75 dB (A)).
The SC also directed the Uttarakhand government and the SPCB to file an affidavit within a week explaining as to how the area in which the appellants were functioning was to be categorised for the purpose of noise pollution.
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