The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has mandated the commencement of criminal proceedings against officers in charge of municipal bodies in seven districts of Uttar Pradesh for their failure to prevent pollution of the Hindon River.
Hindon, a tributary of the Yamuna River with a length of approximately 400 km and a catchment area of about 7,083 sq. km, serves as a primary water source in the districts of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, and Baghpat.
A bench comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi said, “Despite the matter being pending for more than one year, nothing substantially was improved about the quality of water of river Hindon and the continuous discharge of untreated sewage and trade effluent is still rampant, polluting river water continuously.” Till date, “stringent action” has not been taken and the remedial action shows “only future promises, meetings, some decisions, actions to be taken in future but virtually there is no improvement of the situation.”
Observing that some sewage treatment plants (STPs) that were under trial for several months were still not operational, the bench expressed concern over the lack of seriousness and earnest efforts by the authorities in fulfilling their statutory obligations for environmental protection.
“In these circumstances, we direct the Member Secretary, UPPCB (Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board), to promptly initiate or facilitate criminal prosecution by filing a criminal complaint in the appropriate court against the officers-in-charge of municipal corporations/municipal bodies (of the seven districts),” stated the tribunal in an order dated December 15.
The tribunal also instructed the initiation of criminal prosecution against industries discharging pollutants into the river.
“Besides, the State Pollution Control Board and its authorities shall take immediate action for closure of the industrial and other establishments, which are discharging polluted matter in river Hindon and shall also proceed to assess and finalise adequate Environmental Compensation,” the tribunal declared, requesting a compliance report from the UPPCB within two months.
The case is scheduled for further proceedings on February 23, 2024.
