National Green Tribunal takes notice of pollution in Hindon river; seeks Centre's reply

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal today sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking stay on the operation of all industries which are dumping untreated effluents into the Hindon river and its tributaries.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to Ministry of Water Resources, Environment Ministry, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and others while seeking their response by May 25.

The tribunal's direction came while hearing a plea filed by an NGO seeking directions to take "immediate" steps for removal of all dumped solid waste in Hindon and frame action plan for the rejuvenation and cleaning up of the river.

The plea, filed through advocate Rahul Choudhary, said that according to the response from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to an RTI application, there are 172 industries in Ghaziabad, Meerut, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Gautam Budh Nagar which are disposing their outflow into the Hindon.

These mainly deal in fabrics dyeing, electroplating, pesticides formulation, ayurvedic medicines, soft drinks, tannery, frozen meat, paper, cattle slaughter house, sugar, dairy, calcium carbonate and distillery, it said.

"Hindon is a dead river due to the heavy pollution from dumping of untreated industrial waste, municipal solid waste dumping as well as run-off from agricultural fields heavily applied with chemicals," the plea filed by Society for Protection of Environment and Biodiversity and environmentalist Manoj Mishra said.

Last December, CPCB had told the green panel that the effluent discharged from sugar and paper mills, slaughter houses and chemical industries in Uttar Pradesh is degrading the quality of water in the Hindon and the water is even "unfit" for bathing.