New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has directed the state of Uttarakhand to give a timeline for providing proper sewage treatment and solid waste management facilities in Kedarnath.
The green body was hearing a plea alleging that sewage was being discharged into the Mandakini river and the lack of solid waste management was also causing pollution in it.
Earlier, to ascertain the status on the ground, the tribunal had constituted a joint committee comprising the Central Pollution Control Board member secretary, the district magistrate of Rudraprayag and representatives of the regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Dehradun.
In an order dated October 4, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted the committee’s report said, “It clearly indicates that there is no sewage treatment plant (STP) in Kedarnath to treat sewage … With respect to solid waste management, the committee has found that there is no waste processing plant established in Kedarnath for the management of solid and plastic waste which is estimated to be 1.667 tonnes per day (TPD) during the season.” The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel noted the committee’s suggestion for enhancing waste management facilities.
It said that the panel, during its visit, had found “a lot of construction and demolition waste materials” at many places.
The bench noted that according to the report, an STP with a capacity of 600 kilolitres per day (KLD) was being constructed and that it would be complete by December.
The tribunal, however, said that the capacity of the STP was “inadequate” and no timeline was provided for providing sewage connection to the households.
It said, “We direct the state of Uttarakhand to file an affidavit indicating the timeline for providing proper sewage treatment with adequate capacity and solid waste management facilities in Kedarnath and for implementing suggestions made by the joint committee.” “We also direct that before the next season, soak pits should be properly maintained and 100 per cent connectivity through the sewage system to 600 KLD STP be ensured. Let the affidavit to this effect be filed within six weeks,” the bench added.
A soak pit is a method for liquid waste management where a covered, porous-walled chamber allows wastewater to soak into the ground.
The tribunal also directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) to submit within six weeks an affidavit stating the action taken or proposed against the local authorities for violation of environmental norms.
It also allowed the petitioner to implead the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), nothing that river Mandakini is a tributary of the Ganga river.
The matter has been posted on January 30 for further proceedings. PTI MNR MNR IJT IJT
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