Order to pollution board: Inspect tanneries along Ganga in two Weeks, says NGT

NEW DELHI: National Green Tribunal on Friday gave the Central Pollution Control Board and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board two weeks to complete inspection of 700 tanneries located on the banks of the Ganga in Kanpur area and submit its report. In January, a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar had warned it would order closure of these tanneries if they did not comply with prescribed standards.

The green court had said these tanneries were one of the "highest sources of pollution" and warned that "life of millions cannot be put at stake".

The tribunal’s tough stance will complement the Narendra Modi government’s drive to clean up the Ganga. Earlier this year, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that it is keen to totally clean the Ganga by 2018.

NGT had directed inspection of the entire cluster by a team comprising representatives of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the ministry and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).