LI Network
Published on: October 5, 2023 at 11:23 IST
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has called for reports from the district magistrates of 10 West Bengal districts, through which the Ganga and its tributaries flow, concerning pollution stemming from sewage and industrial effluent discharges. The NGT also seeks details on the remedial actions taken by the authorities to combat the pollution.
The NGT addressed a matter related to the prevention and control of Ganga pollution in West Bengal, where the river is also known as Bhagirathi or Hooghly.
In a recent order, a bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava directed, “Let notice be issued to the District Ganga Protection Committees concerned in West Bengal through their Ex-Officio Chairman (District Magistrates) for submitting a report.”
The bench, comprising judicial members Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, as well as expert member A Senthil Vel, identified untreated sewage discharge, industrial effluents, hazardous waste, biomedical waste, encroachment on floodplains, and sand mining as major contributors to the river’s pollution in the state.
The NGT further stated, “Hence, at this stage, we direct the District Magistrates of all the districts (mainstream and tributaries) from where the mainstream of river Ganga and its tributaries flow in West Bengal to submit their own separate reports on the issues in respect of steps which have been taken by the committees for the prevention and control of pollution of river Ganga in their respective areas.”
The matter is scheduled for further proceedings on December 6.
Earlier this year, on August 28, the tribunal announced its intention to address pollution prevention and control issues along the entire stretch of the Ganga, covering every state, city, and district.