Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), November 1, 2022 said three communications were issued by it with respect to legacy waste as well as with respect to control of fire in dumpsites. They were:
Information has been received by the CPCB from 10 state pollution control boards / pollution control committees in response to the three communications, stated the report November 1, 2022.
The NGT July 25, 2022 had asked CPCB "to collate information on legacy and active dump sites in cities having population of more than one million and in the state and Union Territory capitals with timelines to prepare and execute fire management plans with requisite facilities and infrastructure".
The Ottappalam Municipality, Palakkad district, Kerala has prepared an action plan and project report for the removal of legacy waste from the Panamanna trenching ground. The project report has been approved by the Municipal Council, August 6, 2021 and work is going on. This was stated in a report by the Ottappalam Municipality to the NGT October 31.
In the first phase 980 tonnes were already removed. The balance of about 2,000 tonnes will be removed soon. For the same a detailed project for 2.5 crore is under the final stage and it is expected that the project would get completed by June 31, 2023 and there will not be any legacy waste after that.
For improving the storage and sorting facility material collection facility and resource recovery facilities has been decided to be installed. Community composting (Thumboormoozhi model) has been installed in two places.
The Ottappalam Municipality has set up a bio composting plant with a processing capacity of one tonne per day for bio-waste treatment.
The proposed site of sand mining on Son river by RK Transport and Construction is located 1,138 meters from the eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) of Son Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, a joint committee report informed the NGT.
The environmental clearance by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Madhya Pradesh mentioned there is no national park / sanctuary / biodiversity area within the 10 kilometre radius of the project.
But the December 13, 2016 notification by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change indicated there is an eco-sensitive zone of Son Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary in that area.
No annual sand replenishment report of the mining lease area was furnished by the officer-in-charge (mining section) of Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh during the field visit, the NGT report stated.
An August 17, 2022 letter by the deputy director of Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Sidhi stated that the distance of the Thatara mine from Son Gharial Sanctuary has been found to be 1.950 km and the distance of the sanctuary notified eco-sensitive zone to the Thatara mine was 950 meters.
The report was in compliance with the NGT order July 20, 2022. The matter related to illegal excavation of sand from Son river by obstructing the river stream at village Thatara, district Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh by RK Transport and Construction Ltd.
It is said that the project proponent has been granted environmental clearance for sand quarry in a prohibited area of eco-sensitive zone of Son Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary.
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