The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has observed that if effective steps are not taken to stop the discharge of garbage into the Ganges in Prayagraj, the health of crores of pilgrims coming to the Mahakumbh Mela will be affected.
The 40-day Mahakumbh Mela, which is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from across the world, will begin with the Makar Sankranti ‘snan’ (holy bath) on January 14 and conclude with the Mahashivratri Snan on February 26.
The green body was hearing a plea claiming that 50 drains along a stretch of eight kilometers from the city’s Rasulabad to the Sangam (confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers) were dumping sewage directly into the Ganga river.
In September this year, the tribunal had constituted a High-Powered Committee (HPC) headed by the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh and directed it to submit a report on preventive measures by November 23.
In an order on November 29, a bench of NGT Chairman Justice Prakash Srivastava said, “HPC has not submitted any such report nor has any written request been received from it stating that there is any difficulty in filing the report or extending time.” The bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vail, also took note of the submission of the Uttar Pradesh counsel, which stated that there was a typographical error in the letter sent to him by the Chief Secretary on November 28. An extension to report filing.
“If we accept such a plea, we would find that an order was passed by the tribunal on September 23, 2024, yet no effective action appears to have been taken by the HPC till November 7,” the tribunal said, noting the communication. .
It emphasized that the issue of Ganga river pollution is a “time-sensitive issue”.
“The issue of stopping the discharge of untreated waste into the river Ganga before the start of the Kumbh Mela is related to the issue. Crores of people will visit the mela and if effective measures are not taken to prevent the discharge of untreated waste into the river, their health will be affected. We hope the HPC will be sensitive to this issue,” the tribunal said.
He has expressed his displeasure that the public prosecutor has asked for 15 days to submit the report.
“Counsel for the state of UP has submitted that the report has already been prepared and it has been placed before the Chief Secretary for evaluation and signature. If so, why 15 days have been asked to submit the report, we do not understand,” the tribunal said.
“A week’s time has been given to submit the report keeping in mind the request made by the lawyer,” he added.
The NGT said that while it was inclined to direct the personal appearance of the principal secretary of the state’s environment department, it restrained itself, keeping in mind the counsel’s assurance of “immediate action” and no further delay.
The case has been adjourned for further proceedings on January 9.
In a hearing on July 1, the tribunal took note of the report of the UP Pollution Control Board and observed, “The action taken report shows that the river water in the relevant area is not of potable quality for ‘Achman’ purposes.” Advocate Saurabh Tiwari filed the petition.