Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal
Standards for sewage treatment plants must be same all over India: NGT
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on April 30 said it is not justified to dilute effluent discharge standards for areas other than mega and metropolitan cities. The water quality standards are required to be the same for population of major cities or other cities. The tribunal said this in the wake of the expert committee report submitted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The NGT bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and K Ramakrishnan said: “Major population of this country will be affected by diluted standards and only persons in mega and metropolitan cities will have comparatively better standards without any valid reason or distinction.” It ordered that standards recommended for mega and metropolitan cities would also apply to the rest of the country. Further, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been directed to issue an appropriate notification in the matter within one month.
Restrict import of plastic waste: NGT to CPCB
The NGT on April 30 heard a case on import of cheap waste paper and that collected from sweeping roads to fire brick kilns. The CPCB had submitted a report on the issue which acknowledged that import of plastic waste needs to be restricted as India generates 26,000 tonnes of hazardous waste every day and it is not being properly managed. The CPCB had also evolved guidelines for collection, segregation and disposal of plastic waste.
The NGT then directed the CPCB to ensure that its recommendations are implemented and that it looks into restricting import of plastic waste.
Industry in Ballabgarh illegally extracting groundwater
The NGT on April 30 ordered the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to take necessary actions for assessment and recovery of compensation for illegal extraction of ground water by RR Industries at Village & PO Macchgar, Ballabgarh tehsil, Faridabad district.
A report submitted by HSPCB with the deputy commissioner, Faridabad and Central Ground Water Authority showed that the unit was in operation even after being ordered to shut down in 2016.
Panel to probe illegal construction in no-development zone in Daman
The NGT heard a case on April 30 on an unauthorised structure in a no-development zone within 200 metres of the High Tide Line (HTL) in CRZ-III in Devka village in Daman. It asked joint committee of National Coastal Zone Management Authority, Delhi, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad; Daman & Diu Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute of Sustainable Development, Chennai to submit a report on the case in two months.
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