Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in Supreme Court, high courts & National Green Tribunal
Tourist footfall in Arunachal Pradesh is regulated and constantly monitored through the mandatory mechanisms of issuing ‘inner-line permits’ to non-indigenous people, the state government stated in its report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The northeastern state has taken significant steps towards solid and liquid waste management, the report noted. Arunachal Pradesh has been implementing projects for the construction of material recovery facilities in 13 towns. Sewage treatment plants are being set up at Chimpu, Itanagar (Yagamso River), Nabharlagun, Pasighat and Namsai under various schemes.
Besides, action plans have been prepared to bridge gaps in waste management and are under implementation. In addition, the environmental issues are also identified for mitigation at local level through the district environmental plans prepared by the deputy commissioners of the districts.
The government has notified eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) for the Mouling National Park. Dibang wildlife sanctuary and Kane wildlife sanctuary have also been notified. For the remaining protected areas, the ESZ proposals are under submission to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for consideration of issuing final notification in five cases. The notification of ESZ is in process
The compliance report was filed in the case based on the news item published in The Hindu dated February 27, 2022 titled Tourism has brought economic prosperity to the Himalayan region, but the environmental cost has been catastrophic.
The Assam government, in compliance with NGT order dated March 9, 2022 based on the same news story published in The Hindu, filed a report before the court taking stock of measures to contain the adverse effects of tourism on the natural environment.
Most of the tourist spots in Assam fall within either forest area or in some restricted area and are managed by concerned departments, the report noted.
The state’s important tourist spots such as the Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary are not located in urban areas and hence Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban has no role to play in their upkeep, it added.
Measures are being taken to offset tourism impacts in the Kaziranga National Park. In Manas National Park, an action plan to deal with ecological degradation resulting from tourism was outlined in an action taken report.
The government report noted that tourism in Manas National Park is permitted in accordance to the provisions of the Tiger Conservation Plan approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Only a few routes are made available for tourist movement, which constitute just 20 per cent of the core area of the park, the report highlighted. So, there is little chance of any catastrophic environmental cost due to tourism.
Only ‘sustainable tourism’ is allowed inside the Manas National Park without any scope of ecological degradation, the state government underlined in the report. From time to time, the park authority monitors the practices and ensures proper habitat management for the wildlife following the Tiger Conservation Plan.
The fresh waste processing plant proposed in the Barasat municipality of West Bengal hasn’t been built due to scarcity of land and non-participation of vendors in the bidding process. The state department of urban development and municipal affairs mentioned this in a compliance affidavit to NGT.
The total quantity of waste to be processed at Pramodnagar / Rajivnagar site is 1.1 million metric tonnes. In the meantime, an approximate area of 7,000 square metres has been reclaimed from the legacy waste site and fresh waste processing has been initiated as interim basis for two municipalities (North Dum Dum and New Barrackpore municipality) at Pramodnagar / Rajivnagar site.
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