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) directed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board to file a detailed counter-affidavit placing on record the list of all the hotels and eateries operating near the Howrah Railway Station. The court was hearing a plea alleging waste disposal from hotels and eateries near the station was polluting the Ganga river.
The affidavit should mention how many hotels and eateries are connected with effluent treatment plants/ sewage treatment plants (STP) and how many are compliant with environmental norms, including having consent to operate and consent to establish, said the order dated September 6, 2023.
The NGT, Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata, directed a notice be issued to the West Bengal government , Howrah Municipal Corporation, West Bengal Pollution Control Board and National Mission for Clean Ganga and listed the case for next hearing on October 10, 2023.
Subhas Datta, the applicant, had prayed for a direction to the authorities to take immediate steps to stop the fouling of the river Ganga through the discharge of untreated sewage from the hotels and eateries at Howrah Railway Station.
He also asked that encroachments on the river bank near the railway station be removed and all drains discharging waste from these hotels and eateries be connected to the nearest STP near the station.
Hooghly Nadi Jalapath Paribahan Samabay Samity, which is run and managed by the state government, had constructed toilets on the river bank and their waste was flowing into the river, the application further alleged.
Also, huge amounts of waste were dumped on the banks of the river in front of the Samity and several types of wooden and structural garbage was dumped by the said Samity on the river bank.
Gypsum mining in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir is not affecting health of the villagers in the region or the environment, the district mineral officer of Baramulla told the NGT, September 11, 2023.
Environmental clearances have been granted to the lease holders with a set of conditions giving due consideration to the environmental impacts of gypsum mining, it was told.
The lease holders of each and every mine are being periodically monitored by competent authorities in order to make them comply with the conditions laid in the mining plan, environmental clearances and consent to operate, the report by the district mineral officer said.
The report disputed the allegation of water getting contaminated with gypsum and also leading to tuberculosis disease.
“The air/particulate matter pollution in the gypsum mining area of Baramulla district is being continuously kept under control by each mining lease holder using water sprinklers for dust suppression in and around the mines,” it said.
Further, mineral gypsum is partially water-soluble and does not get dissolve in water easily. There are fewer chances of washout of minerals during the rainy season and besides, water was not used during the mining process of the mineral, the submission to the tribunal read.
After the establishment of the reserves of mineral gypsum to the tune of about 100 million tonnes in the entire area from village Ijra to village Chiriyan, 15 mining leases were granted by the Jammu and Kashmir government to the project proponents after fulfilling all the requisite formalities at the time.
The formalities included no objection certificates from various stakeholder departments, including Wildlife and Forest and the submission of mining plans that were approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines.
Since 2016, the gypsum mining leases have been monitored and regulated under “The Jammu & Kashmir Minor Mineral Concession, Storage, Transportation of minerals and Prevention of Illegal Mining Rules, 2016”, said the report.
The Irrigation and Waterways Department, West Bengal was directed by the NGT to respond to the allegations of silt dumping from irrigation canals on a piece of land, creating a temporary dumping ground in Kolkata.
The NGT also asked the principal secretary of Irrigation and Waterways Department to file an affidavit stating that the entire muck and dump that has been filled in the area in question has been removed and the land restored to its original form by the next date of listing, September 22, 2023.
Due to improper dumping and instrumental operations, potholes had also developed inside the premises of the temporary dumping ground, which contained accumulated stagnant water, an applicant had alleged.
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