No-development zone near Ganga, Rs 50k fine for dumping: Green bench

New Delhi: The country’s top green bench, in its latest decision to save the Ganga, has banned the dumping of any kind of waste within 500 metres of the river’s edge; anyone caught littering the Ganga will be charged a fine of Rs 50,000.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday declared 100 metres from the edge of River Ganga as a ‘No-Development Zone’ in the stretch between Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

“There shall be no dumping of waste of any kind within 500 metres from the edge of River Ganga,” said NGT.

Taking steps towards cleaning the river, the tribunal said that Uttar Pradesh should be “duty-bound” to shift tanneries from Jajmau to Unnao or any other place it considers appropriate within six weeks.

The NGT also declared an environment compensation of  Rs 50,000 on anyone who dumps waste in River Ganga. UP and Uttarakhand were directed to formulate guidelines for religious activities on the ghats of Ganga or its tributaries.

NGT has formed a supervisory committee to oversee implementation of directions passed in its 543-page judgement and submit report to it.

In its order, the NGT also observed that almost Rs 7,304 crore have been spent within the stretch, but it has all gone in vain.

The NGT also observed that there are fundamental errors in planning and regulation that have led to the failure of the cleaning of Ganga.

In its previous hearing, the NGT had asked the ministries of environment and power to apprise it about the steps taken by thermal power plants to avoid discharge of effluents and fly ash around the Ganga river.

The tribunal, earlier in 2016, decided on an inspection of the most polluted stretch of the Ganga between Haridwar in Uttarakhand and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh to get a clear picture on the situation.

The green tribunal is hearing, since February 6, a 32-year-old case of pollution in the river, after the Supreme Court forwarded the matter to it.

In April, the NGT ordered the shutting down of 13 polluting industries along the river and imposed penalty on several others.