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) on February 21, 2024 directed a joint committee to look into the allegations of a non-functioning sewage treatment plant (STP) at a residential project in Panipat, Haryana. The developers of the project are Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd and TDI Infratech Ltd.
After visiting the site, the committee will determine the correct position on the spot, the extent of the violation, and recommend corrective actions. The report must be submitted by the committee within six weeks. The next hearing of the case will be on May 1, 2024.
The applicant has filed a complaint against the developers located in Panipat, Haryana, alleging the aforementioned respondents developed a residential project in Panipat, Haryana, but the STP is not operational.
As a result, the untreated sewage is being discharged into the green belt or into the drain, which is proving detrimental to the environment as well as to public health. The respondents, with the assistance of tractor tankers, collected and discharged their untreated sewage either into the green belt/open land or into the nearby drain number 2, which runs directly into the river Yamuna, the applicant alleged.
The overflowed sewage emits a foul and obnoxious odour and the developers have not obtained permission to operate and environmental clearance from the relevant department, the complaint further said.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas is taking various steps to address and tackle the various contributory causes of air pollution in the region, the NGT was told in a report filed February 20, 2024. The CAQM was complying with a tribunal order dated January 3, 2024.
The Commission has identified various contributors to air pollution, with a core focus on the following major sectors: Industrial pollution, vehicular pollution, dust from construction and demolition project activities, dust from roads and open areas, biomass burning, municipal solid waste burning, fires in sanitary landfills, household air pollution and air pollution from other dispersed sources.
A standard list of approved clean fuels was formulated by the CAQM and statutory directions were issued for its implementation in the NCR, in a graded and phased manner, targeting the transition of all industries in the NCR to the approved fuels by December 31, 2022.
The NGT directed a joint committee on February 21, 2023, to investigate allegations that a refinery located on Nakodar road in Jagraon, Ludhiana district, Punjab, contaminated groundwater.
The firm in question, AP Refinery Pvt Ltd, is in the business of solvent extraction, refining and supply of refined rice bran oil.
The joint committee will comprise representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board, Punjab Pollution Control Board, District Magistrate, Ludhiana and Central Groundwater Authority.
A complaint filed before the NGT said the firm is violating the environmental norms. An effluent treatment plant installed on the premises is insufficient and inefficient, and it has not been operating properly, the applicant alleged.
The refinery is using a bypass mechanism, resulting in untreated effluent from the industry being discharged on the company’s land as well as outside, they further claimed. The counsel for the applicant has submitted the villagers are agitating as the groundwater has changed colour.
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