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This is a roundup of the hearings uploaded on April 10
Supreme Court gives the go ahead to R&R Army Hospital for felling of 497 trees
On April 8, the Supreme Court (SC) of India allowed the Referral and Research (R&R) Army Hospital in Delhi to go ahead with a construction which would lead to the felling of 497 trees in the Ridge area. The apex court passed the order after going through the affidavit filed on behalf of the Union Ministry of Defence which informed the SC that they have accepted some of the conditions listed in the Central Empowered Committee Report.
The report had asked the hospital to deposit 5 per cent of the project cost to the Ridge Management Board Fund which would be used by the Forest Department of Delhi for conservation and protection of the Delhi Ridge. A compensatory plantation of 5,000 saplings in lieu of the 497 trees to be felled would be undertaken and the cost of raising the 5,000 trees shall be deposited in advance with the Forest Department.
NGT tells Amarkantak civic body to construct toilets 100 metres away from temples
On April 9, the bench of Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) dismissed the application filed by the Municipal Corporation of Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh for recalling the direction issued by the tribunal for construction of toilets 100 metres away from temples in the pilgrim town and also for shifting the existing ones up to that distance. NGT expressed its unhappiness at the filing of the interlocutory application by the municipal corporation and said it unnecessarily delayed the matter. It directed the Collector of Anuppur district, where the town is located to comply with the order in letter and spirit before the next date of hearing (May 16, 2019).
NGT unhappy at the delay in removing encroachments over Sahibabad Drain
On April 8, the NGT heard the application calling for compliance of orders passed in 2016 for removal of illegal constructions on the Sahibabad Drain in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, as well as encroachments on the green belt area in Vaishalli. In its order, NGT said that in spite of the fact that the case was initiated in the year 2014 and the final order was passed by it in the year 2016, the execution of the same by the authorities is yet to be completed.
Maharashtra lags in solid, plastic and bio-medical waste management: NGT
On April 8, the bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice K Ramakrishnan of NGT, after going through the affidavit filed by the Maharashtra government, called the steps taken by it for plastic waste management, bio-medical waste management as well as steps taken under Rule 22 of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016, as ‘inadequate’.
After discussions with the Chief Secretary, NGT directed that steps for compliance of Rules 22 and 24 of SWM Rules be now taken within six weeks to the extent not yet taken. Similar steps are to be taken with regard to Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules and Plastic Waste Management Rules. Further, at least three major cities and three major towns in the state and at least three Panchayats in every District may be notified on the government’s website within two weeks from today as model cities/towns/villages, which will be made fully compliant within the next six months.