NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has formed a panel to find the correct factual position and take remedial action regarding a petition claiming the discharge of polluted water in the river Ganga at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was hearing a petition according to which the ‘Magh Mela’ was organised till March 8 this year in Prayagraj but around 50 drains were discharging polluted water for about eight kilometres from the Rasulabad locality to the ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of rivers Ganga and Yamuna).
It also claimed that around 10 sewage treatment plants (STPs) were not functioning properly and because of the pollution, the river’s colour became “blackish”.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said the plea raised “a substantial issue relating to compliance with environmental norms”.
The bench also comprising judicial members Justices Sudhir Agarwal and Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that the larger issue regarding river Ganga’s pollution and the issue of sewage discharge in rivers Yamuna and Ganga was being considered by the tribunal.
As the plea was regarding the ongoing ‘Magh Mela’, the bench said that it was constituting a joint committee to look into the matter.
The panel will comprise the member secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the district magistrate of Prayagraj, it said.
“The joint committee will ascertain the correct factual position, the truthfulness of the allegations and take appropriate remedial action,” the tribunal said in an order passed on January 18.
It directed the panel to submit an action-taken report within two months.
It also claimed that around 10 sewage treatment plants (STPs) were not functioning properly and because of the pollution, the river’s colour became “blackish”.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said the plea raised “a substantial issue relating to compliance with environmental norms”.
The bench also comprising judicial members Justices Sudhir Agarwal and Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that the larger issue regarding river Ganga’s pollution and the issue of sewage discharge in rivers Yamuna and Ganga was being considered by the tribunal.
As the plea was regarding the ongoing ‘Magh Mela’, the bench said that it was constituting a joint committee to look into the matter.
The panel will comprise the member secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the district magistrate of Prayagraj, it said.
“The joint committee will ascertain the correct factual position, the truthfulness of the allegations and take appropriate remedial action,” the tribunal said in an order passed on January 18.
It directed the panel to submit an action-taken report within two months.
