Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (November 18, 2022)

Waste management in Andhra

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the government of Andhra Pradesh to file a status report on waste management in the state.

The tribunal has also suggested some remedial measures to address the issue. The NGT was responding to an application November 17, 2022.

Some of the suggestions made by the tribunal are:

• The impact of bioremediation of drains on reduction of biological oxygen demand and faecal coliform should be verified.
• Sewage discharge into rivers and other water bodies should be regulated. The sewage treatment plants (STP) should have well-defined performance-based operation and maintenance mechanisms.
• Unprocessed solid waste should be separated from legacy waste. The components emerging out of bio-remediation and biomining processes should be properly managed.

Dumping of coal near residential area

The NGT has directed the constitution of a committee to look into a plea against industrial units in the Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly dumping coal near residential areas.

The member secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board will be the nodal agency for the coordination of the committee, the tribunal said November 16, while responding to an application.

Nearly 10 million tonnes of coal were dumped without obtaining any permission. It has contaminated the water bodies, groundwater and air, the applicant said.

Illegal sand mining near Yamuna

The NGT ordered a halt to sand mining operations near the Yamuna in the Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh. The tribunal directed the district magistrate of Ghaziabad to ensure that no illegal mining occurs at the site in question.

The NGT was responding to an application November 16. The tribunal had constituted a joint committee July 12 this year to look into the matter.

“An environmental compensation of Rs 6907,160 had been imposed on the project proponent and the proceedings for recovery are pending,” it noted.

NGT slaps penalty

The NGT has slapped a compensation of Rs 10 crore on a company for illegally cutting 500 trees from the Faridabad district, Haryana. The National Green Tribunal has directed the company to pay two lakh for each tree cut down by the latter November 16.

The tribunal has also directed the company to do compensatory afforestation within three months.