Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
The Kerala High Court January 8, 2024 directed the authorities to take effective action to prevent the sale of plastic bottles, packaged drinking water in plastic / PET bottles, plastic utensils and toys in the Sannidhanam, Pamba and Nilakkal area of Sabarimala as well as in the trekking path by any hawker.
The authorities including the district collector, Pathanamthitta, district Police Chief, Pathanamthitta, deputy director, Periyar West Division, executive officer, Sabarimala, and secretary, Ranni-Perunad Grama Panchayat will enforce the directions with the help of Duty Magistrates, Inspectors of the Legal Metrology Department, the enforcement squad of Ranni-Perunad Grama Panchayat and also the Vigilance Wing of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the order said.
The Travancore Devaswom Board has been instructed to take stern action against violators and close down such shops.
In the latest Sabarimala Special Commissioner Report, the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala had stated that during the current pilgrimage season, there was unauthorised sale of articles by hawkers at Nilakkal.
The Special Commissioner, Sabarimala directed the duty magistrate at Nilakkal to take action and to remove unauthorised hawkers and it was complied with. However, illegal hawkers, including persons from other states are again present at Nilakkal, who are selling the banned items. Some of the hotels and shops at Nilakkal are also stocking and selling drinking water in PET bottles and plastic bottles.
The Special Commissioner, Sabarimala has filed a supplementary report dated January 5, 2024, which stated that due to the presence of the unauthorised hawkers, whose identities are not verified but remain inside the Nilakkal Base Camp, a Special Security Zone, serious security lapses may occur.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) January 8 directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to ensure that Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) / Island Coastal Regulation Zone Plan (ICRZP) is prepared by each coastal management authority expeditiously within a time-bound period.
All the states and Union territory coastal zone authorities, who have been issued notices, have been directed to file their response, at least one week before the next date of hearing on March 6, 2024.
The issue involved in the original application relates to the dangers of sea level rise and submergence of low-lying islands. The reply on behalf of the secretary, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Changes revealed that the CZMPs, according to the 2019 Notification, have been approved only for Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra and ICRZP only for Great Nicobar Island and Little Andaman Island.
The reply further revealed that the National Coastal Zonal Management Authority in its 46th meeting on August 1, 2023 had directed that all coastal states /UTs, whose CZMPs/ICRZP are yet to be finalised as per 2019 Notification, must complete the same by October 31, 2023. MoEF&CC noted that apart from the three states and two islands of Union Territories, no other state or Union Territory has formulated the plan till now.
The total number of trees planted in the Ludhiana city of Punjab is around 225,177, according to latest data, the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana said in its reply to NGT December 31, 2023. Various safeguards are being undertaken for maintenance and upkeep of the plants by installing fences and railings around the area. The survival rate of the trees is approximately 50-60 per cent, the corporation noted.
The details of 892 parks, along with their size, and the newly built 20-acre green belts have been uploaded on the official website of the municipal corporation, the body stated. It also provided a telephone number and a complaint portal for registering complaints against illegal encroachments in the above parks and green belts.
The NGT August 7, 2023 had directed the corporation to upload the above details on its website / district administration website within a month. The corporation was also directed to document survival rate of the plantations made and conduct census of the trees within the municipal area and take appropriate remedial measures for protection of plantation and trees.
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