National Green Tribunal asks for report on construction ban
On Monday, The National Green Tribunal directed UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) member-secretary and Ghaziabad local authorities to submit a report by March 10, on implementation status of ban orders on construction on the Sahibabad drain and a green belt in Vaishali.
On February 5, the tribunal had enforced the ban. Aside from the pollution control board, NGT has also given the order to the GDA, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation and the UP State Industrial Development Corporation.
Ghaziabad-based environmental activist Hazi Arif filed an application .After which the tribunal had ordered the authorities to stop all construction activities on the drain between Kaushambi Metro station and Mohan Nagar. The release of untreated water into Sahibabad drain, which empties near Kalindi Kunj in Delhi, tribunal also directed to stop it.
The bench had restricted constructions for the drain, which cause obstructions to the free flow of effluents, unless those constructions have valid permissions from the authorities, according to the report.
The constructions over the particular stretch of green belt had disrupted groundwater recharge in the region and reduced green cover, as informed by the activist in his application.
He further added that concretizing activities have been carried out even though the area having been declared as ‘over-exploited’ in terms of groundwater resources by the Central Ground Water Authority.
Source: Times of India
Ghaziabad local authorities, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, Hazi Arif, Kalindi Kunj, Kaushambi Metro station, Mohan Nagar, Sahibabad, The National Green Tribunal, UP pollution control board, UP State Industrial Development Corporation, Vaishali
