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Report on timely completion of sewage treatment plants to control pollution of river Ganga, 11/08/2020

  • 11/08/2020

Updated status report filed by the Central Pollution Control Board before the National Green Tribunal in the matter of M. C. Mehta Vs Union of India & Others in Original Application No. 200/2014.

The NGT in its order of December 12, 2019 had directed that there should be timely completion of projects related to sewage treatment by June 31, 2020 in respect of ongoing projects. And by December 31, 2020 in respect of others - failing which compensation has to be paid. Till then, to avoid untreated sewage being discharged directly into Ganga, interim remedial measures have to be adopted and the for the default after November 1, 2019 compensation has to be deposited. In compliance the CPCB filed a compliance report on June 23, 2020 with fresh calculations of EC amounts for the defaulting drains.

In continuation to the compliance report, it was mentioned that the West Bengal State National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) Management Group vide Letter dated 8th July, 2020 has informed CPCB that the calculated Environmental Compensation (EC) amount of Rs 20 lacs (Since 01.11.2019 till 29.02.2020) for defaulting drain (Jangipur) has been transferred in the CPCB account on June 26, 2020.

Other three states i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar are yet to deposit the EC amount. EC calculations for the State of Jharkhand was revised to zero as out of a total of 6 drains two drains were tapped and interim measures have been adopted in the remaining four drains.