Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Monitor progress of solid waste management: NGT to Lakshadweep advisor
A status report filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by Lakshadweep came up for consideration on May 14, 2019 on the status of compliance of orders of the tribunal on the subject of solid waste management and allied issues.
The NGT said the steps required to be taken under Rule 22 of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 have not yet been fully completed and same was the case with plastic waste management and bio-medical waste management.
Taking note of the articles published in the media, the tribunal said until 2016 Lakshadweep had no sewage treatment plant and discarded plastic was affecting coral reefs, while on land they hindered root growth of coconut trees and rainwater circulation. So, the NGT directed the advisor of the Union territory to personally monitor the progress, at least once in a month and ensure that the entire UT is made compliant with the environment norms within next six months.
NGT asks panel to submit report on Vapi industrial cluster
The NGT on May 13, 2019 directed an expert committee looking into pollution of river Daman Ganga and drain Bill Khadi in district Valsad in Gujarat to submit a report in two months. The river is being polluted with untreated industrial effluents of more than 500 industrial units in Vapi Industrial Cluster.
The committee has been directed to calculate based on actual period of pollution during five years preceding 26.02.2018, the date on which this application was filed (26.02.2013) till the date of calculation. The committee has to take into account the category under which the industry falls (red, orange and green) and corelate the compensation to be recovered to the cost of restoration.
The Gujarat Pollution Control Board has been asked to list all the polluting units and the order clearly stated that, “If cost of restoration is not recovered from polluters, the regulator and not the victim should be responsible for the loss.”
NGT appoints court commissioner to study health of villagers affected by Nagaur stone crushing units
Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore of the National Green Tribunal on May 15, 2019 appointed Virendra Singh as a court commissioner to look into the effects of air pollution caused by stone crushing units on villages of Koliya, Naka ke Dhani, Nozalo ke Dhani and Bandolai ke Dhani in tehsil Didwana, Nagaur district, Rajasthan. He has been directed to visit all the villages, set up medical camp and examine all villagers.
Construction at Brahmaputra banks to be probed
Large-scale construction of buildings and other activities are taking place at Sristinagar, Chunsali, Guwahati, Assam. Chunsali is a place at the bank of river Brahmaputra which is ecologically fragile. This case came up for hearing before the NGT on May 14, 2019 . The tribunal ordered that notices be issued to the Government of Assam, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Assam Pollution Control Board, and M/s Sristinagar Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
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