National Green Tribunal
Abhisht Kusum Gupta vs State Of Uttar Pradesh on 6 May, 2024
Item No. 06 Court No. 1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
Original Application No. 859/2022
(I.A. No.769/2023 & I. A. No.632/2023)
Abhisht Kumar Gupta Applicant
Versus
State of UP & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 06.05.2024
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR AGARWAL JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
Applicant: None present
Respondent: Mr. Pradeep Misra & Mr. Daleep Dhyani, Advs. for UPPCB (Through VC)
Mr. Bhanwar Pal Singh Jadon, Adv. for the State of UP (Through VC)
Mr. Malak Bhatt, Ms. Neeha Nagpal & Mr. Shreyansh Chopra, Advs. for
Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam
ORDER
1. In this original application, the Tribunal is considering the issue relating to rampant pollution of River Hindon by discharge of untreated industrial effluent as well as municipal and domestic sewage by the local bodies and complete inaction on the part of the concerned authorities in observance of their statutory obligation for stopping such discharge.
2. The Tribunal on 15.12.2023 had considered the earlier report and material on record and had found that:
"15. It is surprising to notice that Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Environment were made nodal agency for coordination and compliance with regard to proceedings and submission of report yet report has been filed under Signature of an Under Secretary which cannot be said to be a strict compliance of earlier order dated 17.03.2023.
16. Even otherwise, we find from the report that Chief Secretary had constituted Committees by Office Memorandums dated 1 05.04.2023 and 28.04.2023 but progress and remedial action was reviewed by hybrid mode on 26.07.2023 and 28.08.2023 i.e. after more than 3 months each, the remedial action shows only future promises, meetings, some decisions, actions to be taken in future but virtually there is no improvement of the situation, as it was on the last day when order dated 17.03.2023 was passed. We may reproduce the contents of report from para 4 to para 11 as under:-
"4. Remedial action for control of pollution of Hindon Hindon is purely rain fed river with a stretch of 400 km and flows through 07 districts of Uttar Pradesh namely Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddha Nagar. It joins river Yamuna just outside Delhi. Major tributaries of Hindon are River Kali (West) (Pithlokar village, District Meerut) and River Krishni (Barnawa village in Baghpat district). Minor tributaries of Hindon are Pandhoi, Dhamola, Naagdev Rau and Chacha rau (Saharanpur district). Hindon has catchment area of 7,083 sq. km which has population of 19 million.
A. Status of Drains As per the report of CPCB, there are total 55 identified drains of River Hindon (26), Kali-West (17), Dhamola (5) and Krishni (4). Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) is monitoring 32 major drains on stretch of Hindon River Basin, out of which 09 Drains are Domestic drains and 23 drains are Industrial/ mixed drains. As per the latest monitoring report of drains in October 2023, there are 27 drains where BOD ranges between 0-150mg/l and 02 drains have BOD more than 150 mg/l. 17 drains had COD levels between 0 and 250 mg/l, while 12 drains have COD levels beyond 250 mg/l. Monitoring data of drains is annexed as Annexure-6.Following table depicts the district wise list of tapped and untapped drains:
S. District Domesti Industri Number Tapped / No c drains al/mixed of Untapped drains Drains (Total) 1 Haridwar 00 01 01 01 Untapped
2. Saharanpur 05 07 12 10 Untapped, 01 Partially tapped, 01 Dry
3 Muzaffarnagar 12 07 19 17 Untapped, 02 Tapped 4 Shamli 00 02 02 02 Untapped 5 Meerut 00 02 02 01 Untapped, 01 Dry 6 Baghpat 00 01 01 01 Untapped 7 Ghaziabad 05 09 14 12 Untapped, 01 Tapped, 1 Dry 8 Gautam 02 02 04 04 Untapped Budh Nagar Total 24 31 55 48 Untapped, 2 03 Tapped, 01 Partially Tapped, 03 Dry It has to be clarified that number of drains in order dated 17.03.2023 actually double count drains monitoring data.
B. Sewage Treatment i. Status of installed Capacity for Sewage Treatment As per the latest information provided by Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, GoUP, total sewage generation in Hindon river basin is 943.63 MLD. For treatment of sewage, 16 STPs with treatment capacity of 867.5 MLD are installed. The utilization capacity of 16 STPs is 711.6 MLD. To bridge the gap in sewage treatment capacity, the state is taking further steps and 4 STPs of capacity 86 MLD are under construction & 7 STPs of capacity 221 MLD have been planned which will create total capacity of 1174.5 MLD by Dec, 2025. List of under construction and proposed STPs along with timelines is enclosed as Annexure-7.
District Sewage STP Installed Gap STP Timeline STP Time
Generati Num Installed Utilized (MLD) Under Prop line
on -ber Capacity capacity Const osed
(MLD) (MLD) (MLD) ructio (Futu
n/ re
under Plan)
Tende
ring
Sharan 137.89 1 38 38 99.89 - - 2 Dec
pur (155 2025
MLD)
Ghazia 480 9 510 500 0 1 Trial Run - -
bad (21.5 will be
MLD) getting
electricity
connection
Bagpat 0.10 0 0 0 0 - Discharge - -
is from
Ramala
Sugar
Mill. ZLD
has been
achieved
by the
industry
Meerut 10 0 0 0 10 - - 1 Dec
(6 2025
MLD)
Shamli 33.50 0 0 0 33.50 - - 4 Dec
(60 2025
MLD)
Gautam 171 5 287 143 0 - - - -
Budh
Nagar
Muzaff 111.14 1 32.50 30.6 44.19 3 Dec 2023 - -
arnagar including (64.5
34.45 0
MLD MLD)
industrial
3
discharge
Total 943.63 16 867.5 711.6 222.1 4 Dec 2023 7 Dec
3 (86 (221 202
MLD) MLD) 5
District-wise status of sewage generation, existing treatment capacity, gaps and plan to bridge the gaps is enclosed herewith as Annexure-8.
ii. Khoda-Makanpur I&D Works.
In the regard to sewage generation in Khoda-Makanpur, it is to submit that a project amounting Rs. 14,110.86 lacs is estimated to address the discharge of untreated sewage of Khoda- Makanpur into two drains namely Delhi side drain and Noida side drain, which finally joins river Yamuna through Kondali drain. Under this project, I&D of Delhi side drain and Noida side drain, an interceptor sewer of 11.00 km length, Main Pumping Station (MPS) and STP of 66 MLD is proposed. In the meeting headed by Chief Secretary, GoUP dated 02.12.2023, Noida Authority has expressed his accordance to arrange and provide 16,000.00 Sqm of land for the construction of STP. District Magistrate, Ghaziabad has consented to make the payment for the land to Noida Authority from the funds available with Khoda- Makanpur under 15th finance commissions. Under this project, the waste water discharge into above mentioned drains will be intercepted and diverted to proposed STP.
iii. Status of compliance of STPs in Hindon River Basin There are 16 Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) installed in Hindon River Basin with installed capacity of 867.5 MID and utilized capacity of 691.64 MUD. Regular monitoring of STPs is carried out by Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. As per latest monitoring data of 16 STPs of October 2023 (a copy is enclosed herewith as Annexure-9), 13 STPS are achieving and 03 STPs are non- achieving in terms of fecal Coliform (FC) Following actions have been taken against non-achieving STPs for achieving norms-
a) 56 MLD Trans Hindon (Indirapuram), Ghaziabad:-
Environment Compensation (EC) of ₹ 36.13 Lakh has been imposed. Construction of Chlorination unit for treatment of Fecal Coliform is under process and will be completed by Nov, 2023.
b) 70 MLD U.A.S.B.R. Dudahaida Vijay Nagar, Ghaziabad:-
Environment Compensation (EC) of ₹ 141 Lakh has been imposed.
c) 32.5 MLD Nagar Palika Parishad, Kidwainagar, Muzaffarnagar: upgradation work in process.
C. Industrial Pollution Management i. Status of Industries in Hindon River Basin There are 363 industries identified in Hindon river basin. Out of 363 industries, 23 industries are Zero liquid industries (ZLD). Total effluent generation from industries is 72,170.9 KLD, whereas installed treatment capacity in the effluent treatment 4 plants established for the industries is 72,776.9 KLD. District wise status of industries in FY 2023-24 is tabulated in table below:
S. District Present ZLD Effluent Installed Gap No no. of industries generation Treatment industries (in KLD) Capacity (in KLD) 1 Sharanpur 47 2 16,604 16,604 0 2 Ghaziabad 217 1 13536.9 13536.9 0 3 Bagpat 1 0 1,000 1,000 0 4 Meerut 5 2 1,348 1,600 0 5 Shamli 6 3 3,400 3,400 0 6 Gautam 25 1 3,756 4,110 0 Budh Nagar 7 Muzaffarnagar 56 14 32,526 32,526 0 Total 357 23 72,170.9 72,776.9 0 Note:-Total 06 dismantled industrial units (Saharanpur-1, Ghaziabad-3, G.B. Nagar-2) has been removed from the list.
ii. Status of Action taken against defaulting Industries inHindon River Basin In FY 2023-24, Environment Compensation (EC) of ₹ 76.78 Cr is imposed on 13 defaulting units. Show cause notices have been issued to 47 defaulting units for imposition of environmental compensation equivalent to 10% turnover but not lower than assessed cost of restoration, as per the directions by Hon'ble Tribunal. UPPCB has also issued closure orders to 33 defaulting units.
S. District No. of No. of EC EC
No SCN Closure imposed recovered
(in lakh (₹) (in lakh (₹)
1 Sharanpur 12 4 22.40 12.90
2 Ghaziabad 26 27 169.87 37.945
3 Bagpat 0 0 0 0
4 Meerut 0 1 0 0
5 Shamli 1 0 0 0
6 Gautam Budh 3 1 0 0
Nagar
7 Muzaffarnagar 5 0 7,686 45.90
Total 47 33 7,878.27 96.745
Letters have been issued to the concerned District Magistrates for issuing Recovery Certificates of unpaid or outstanding Environmental Compensation as arrears of revenue. Copies of letters are enclosed herewith as Annexure-10.
5. Status of Inspections of Field Monitoring Teams In compliance to the direction of Hon'ble Tribunal dated 17.03.2023 Field Monitoring teams are conducting inspection in Saharanpur, 5 Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Gr. Noida (Gautam Budh Nagar), Ghaziabad districts. List of industrial units/ Drains inspected is given in Annexure-11. District wise details of inspections done by Field Monitoring Team constituted by Government of U.P. vide O.M. dated 26.06.2023 are mentioned below:
A. Saharanpur District Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring Team has conducted inspections of 16 Industries, 03 Drain, 01 STP and Hindon and Krishni River between the period from 28.06.2023 to 22.09.2023. ii. M/s Star Paper Mills, Ltd. has submitted time bound Action Plan for installation of Tertiary treatment for Colour removal. iii. It is observed by committee that industrial units shall utilize the treated effluent in maximum ways through recycle mechanism so that there is no adverse impact on recipient drains /water bodies.
iv. The silt collected in the Thaska drain should be cleaned so that the flow in the drain can be uninterrupted Detailed Report of inspected units in Saharanpur District is attached here as Annexure-12.
B. Muzaffarnagar Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring Team has conducted inspections of 12 Industries between the period from 27.06.2023 to 05.09.2023. ii. It is observed by committee that:
1) Paper mill units shall strictly adhere to provision of charter regarding water Consumption, waste water generation and treatment methodologies as prescribed depending on waste paper-based units/ agro-based units.
2) The units shall strictly adhere to effluent discharge norms and shall inculcate self-monitoring mechanism within premises in order to control water pollution load.
3) Operating parameters of effluent treatment plant shall always conform to the designed characteristics of each unit of ETP through adoption of continuous operation and maintenance practices.
Detailed Report of inspected units in Muzaffarnagar District is attached here as Annexure-13.
C. Shamli Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring Team has conducted inspections of 05 Industries on 13.09.2023 and 14.09.2023. ii. It is observed by committee that:6
1) The inspected units mainly comprised paper mill and dyeing units. These units need to maintain ZLD mechanism through complete recycling of treated effluent so that there is no contribution of Water pollution load to recipient drain.
2) The units shall continue to implement charter provisions through effective self-monitoring methodology.
Detailed Report of inspected units in Shamli District is attached here as Annexure-14.
D. Meerut Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring Team has conducted inspections of 05 Industries, 03drains (Sardhana and Kinoni) between the period from 26.06.2023 to 23-08-2023 ii. It is observed by committee that:
1) To solve the problem of sewage water pollution in Sardhana Drain, continuous meetings have been organized under the chairmanship / instructions of the District Magistrate, Meerut.
2) At present, for the treatment of sewage generated from Sardhana town area, a STP of 06 MLD capacity has been proposed by UP Jal Nigam (Urban) under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, for which, land marking process is in progress.
3) A case under section 133 of CrPC was filed by the Municipal Council, Sardhana before the Hon'ble Court, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sardhana, Meerut against the dairy operators located in Sardhana town and as per the orders received from the Court, fine has been imposed and for its recovery RC has been issued to 63 dairy operators in Tehsil Sardhana
4) UPPCB has issued directions under section 33 of Water Act 1974 to Nagar PalikaSardhana for shifting of Dairies and cleaning of Sardhana Drain
5) At present, irrigation department Meerut Division, Gang Nahar, Meerut has conducted cleaning work for 17 km stretch of Sardhana Drain and has spent ₹60 Lakh for the work.
Detailed Report of inspected units in Meerut District is attached here as Annexure-15.
E. GautamBudh Nagar (Greator Noida) Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring team has inspected 12 industrial units, 02 STPs, and 02 Drains in conforming areas between period 28.06.2023 to 24.07.2023 ii. Direction has been issued by UPPCB to all Textile Units for installation of Colour Removal Unit with combination of biological system.
iii. It is observed by committee that:7
1) Untreated sewage generated from areas such as Rahul Vihar and Bahrampur which is situated at entry point of Gautam Budh Nagar needs to be treated through nearby STPs by concerning Development Authority/Municipal Corporation/Local body.
2) The Untreated sewage being generated in flood plain areas such as Chijarsi, Bahlolpur, Chotpur, Tigri, Yusufpur which drains in River Hindon and untreated domestic sewage from residential areas located on GT Road, which meets Dasana Drain needs to be treated to nearby STP by concerning local authority.
3) The electricity supply of illegal units existing in non-conforming areas need to be disconnected by concerning PVVNL/NPCL.
Detailed Report of inspected units in Gautam Budh Nagar District is attached here as Annexure-16.
F. Ghaziabad Highlights:
i. Field Monitoring Team has conducted inspections of 05 Industries between the period from 26.06.2023 to 24-07-2023. ii. It is observed by committee that: -
a) The inspected units mainly comprised paper mill and dyeing units. These units need to maintain ZLD mechanism through complete recycling of treated effluent so that there is no contribution of Water pollution load to recipient drain.
b) The units shall continue to implement charter provisions through effective self-monitoring methodology.
Detailed Report of inspected units in Ghaziabad District is attached here as Annexure-17.
6. CPCB's Plan for restoration of polluted Stretch of Hindon and its Tributaries based on studies of CPCB Central pollution Control Board (CPCB) has mapped pollution sources and drafted detailed plan for restoration of polluted stretch in River Hindon catchment area attached herewith as Annexure-18. The Chief Secretary, government of Uttar Pradesh vide letter dated 06.11.2023 has issued instructions to the concerned departments for its effective implementation. The letter of Chief Secretary dated 06.11.2023 is annexed as Annexure-19. The status of its implementation through concerned departments/ agencies as detailed below:
A. Industry specific Ongoing Actions on the lines of CPCBAdvice for Rejuvenation and Pollution Abatement of River Hindon. i. Strict compliance to CPCB's charter for Distillery, Pulp & Paper, Sugar, and Textile industries is ensured. All new and upcoming distillery units are mandatory to have incinerator/ slop boilers with Condensate Polishing Unit (CPU), ensure ZLD for abatement of colored effluent. There are 23 ZLD units in 07 districts of 8 Hindon River Basin which includes Distillery, Pulp & Paper, Sugar, Textile industries and Thermal Power Plants.
ii. In Ghaziabad, action against illegal industries running in non- conforming areas of Sahibabad and Loni has been taken by District Level Committee against. Total 1,368 illegal units have been demolished and electricity disconnection was also done.
iii. In Ghaziabad, letter dated 14.08.2023 has been issued by Regional Office, Ghaziabad, UPPCB to 220 industrial units to install colour removal units along with Physio-chemical treatment, Tertiary treatment/ Multi-grade Filter and Activated Carbon filter in the ETP installed in the units.
iv. UPPCB has issued closure order against 123 Dairy units on dated 15-032023. Out of this electricity has been disconnected for 10 units and for the rest, this drive is in process by Joint Committee comprising of District Administration, Nagar Palika Parishad, Electricity Department, UPPCB & Police Administration.
v. A proposal for establishing compressed biogas plant(CBG) in PPP model is under preparation by Nagar Palika Parishad, Sardhana to solve the issue of dairy effluent.
Government of Uttar Pradesh vide Gazette No. 331/76-3-2020- 13N.G./2020 dated 17.06.2020, has "Notified Areas" for taking up appropriate measures for overall management and regulation of ground water with effect from October 02, 2020 in rural and urban areas of the State of Uttar Pradesh.
7. Management of Ecological Flow Irrigation and Water Resource Department, GoUP has informed vide letter no. 522/Mu.A.Y(G.S.)/Aning-1/Anikh-3 dated 17.10.2023, (copy of letter is enclosed herewith as Annexure-20) that Hindon River is a non-perennial river, in which only rain water flows. During the remaining time the flow in this river remains negligible. Hence, the determination of e-flow in Hindon River is not possible.
In review meeting under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Government dated 26.07.2023, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, GoUP has been directed to ensure availability of additional water to discharge in River Hindon for improving the water quality of Hindon River. In compliance to this direction, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, GoUP has informed that Upper Ganga Canal originates from Bhimgowda Barrage situated on the Ganga River in Haridwar, has estimated discharge of 13000 cusec. Through this canal system, districts Haridwar, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, GautamBudh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Kasganj, Firozabad and through the parallel Deoband branch feeder channel, districts Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, and Ghaziabad, irrigation water is provided to the farmers for Kharif and Rabi crops.
9At present, about 1500 cusecs of water is released into the Hindon River from the Jani Escape of the Upper Ganga Canal, which is found in the Hindon River at approximately Km. 111.00 and flows in the river from Km. 111.00 to Km. 49.100 of the Hindon River. Water from the Hindon Barrage constructed at km 49.100 of the Hindon River is given to the Agra Canal for irrigation through the Hindon Cut Canal as per the established distribution of river water. The remaining water available in Hindon River is released in downstream of Hindon Barrage. Due to non-availability of additional water in the Upper Ganga Canal, it is not possible to release additional water into the Hindon River.
8. Management of Flood Plains The flood plain zone of Hindon River has been demarcated by the Chief Engineer (Yamuna), Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Uttar Pradesh, Okhla vide OM No. 1891/Mu.A.Y/N.G.T./Hindon River, dated 19.09.2020.Based on coordinates mentioned in the report titled "Hydrodynamics Simulation & mapping of 25 years return period flood plain of river Hindon" drafted by IIT Delhi, approval of project for installation of RCC pillars for marking the flood plain zone is under process.
9. Status of piped water supply In compliance to the directions issued by Hon'ble NGT regarding completion of piped water supply work in 148 villages, all 148 villages have been covered with piped water supply completely.
10. Plantation drive along the Hindon river The state has taken up massive plantation drive on the banks of river Hindon. In FY 2023-24, 2,67,391 saplings are planted within 5 km radius of Hindon river banks. In last 05 years FY (2019-24), 6,66,152 saplings are planted within 5 km radius of Hindon River bank.
S. District No. of Saplings
No 2019- 2020-21 2021 2022 2023 Total
20 -22 -23 -24 (201
9-24)
1 Sharanpur 30,80 76,500 50,3 30,0 31,2 2,18,
0 00 00 00 800
2 Ghaziabad - - - 900 55,3 56,2
00 00
3 Bagpat 85,10 1,13,750 87,9 1,18, 1,21, 227,
0 00 850 991 594
4 Meerut - - - 21,6 10,7 32,3
58 00 58
5 Shamli - - - - 48,2 48,2
00 00
6 Gautam - 30,000 20,0 - - 50,0
Budh 00 00
Nagar
7 Muzaffarn 6,600 26,400 - - - 33,0
agar 00
Total 1,22,5 2,46,650 1,58, 1,71, 2,67, 6,66,
10
00 200 408 391 152
11. Improved water quality of River Hindon A significant reduction has been observed in terms of BOD and COD. Following table depicts the improvement in water quality of Hindon in January to October 2023 with respect to January to October 2022.
S. Sampling Point 2022 (Jan to 2023 (Jan Percent
No October) to October) change in
B.O.D (mg/l) B.O.D BOD values
(mg/l) in year
2023 as
compared
to year
2022
1 D/S 43.60 40.50 -7.11
Maheshpur
Saharanpur
2 Sardhana- 54.80 59.40 8.39
Budhana
Road, Vill
Baparsi,
Meerut
3 Meerut 40.20 26.60 -33.83
Baghpat
Road, Meerut
4 Karheda 21.70 17.30 -20.28
village,
Ghaziabad
5 Mohan Nagar 17.80 16.60 -6.74
Road Bridge,
Ghaziabad
6 Chijarsi 33.46 14.40 -56.96
Bridge,
Ghaziabad
7 D/S Kulsera 43.40 38.30 -11.75
Bridge, Noida
Graph showing values omitted.
S.No Sampling Point 2022 (Jan to 2023 (Jan Percent
October) to October) change in
C.O.D (mg/l) C.O.D COD values
(mg/l) in year
2023 as
compared
to year
2022
1 D/S 185.80 162.80 -12.38
Maheshpur
Saharanpur
11
2 Sardhana- 365.60 352.40 -3.61
Budhana
Road, Vill
Baparsi,
Meerut
3 Meerut 287.80 166.40 -42.18
Baghpat
Road, Meerut
4 Karheda 128.60 59.10 -54.04
village,
Ghaziabad
5 Mohan Nagar 117.10 58.60 -49.96
Road Bridge,
Ghaziabad
6 Chijarsi 203.20 63.40 -68.80
Bridge,
Ghaziabad
7 D/S Kulsera 205.20 185.10 -9.80 "
Bridge, Noida
3. The Tribunal further found that:
"17. Learned Counsel appearing for State of Uttar Pradesh stated that steps have been taken for installation of required number of Sewage Treatment Plants but could not show anything on record that quantity of treatment of sewage has increased or there is any improvement in quality of treated water or the treated water is meeting standards prescribed under law. In respect of some of STPs where it was mentioned that they are under trial run and will be made fully effective by September, 2023, we find that deadline has been extended till December, 2023, meaning thereby, that functioning of STPs which were claimed to be under trial more than three months back, is still continuing same. This shows lack of seriousness and earnest efforts on the part of the authorities in discharge of their statutory functions for protection of environment. We also find that even till this date, against the gross polluting industries, stringent actions like closure of industries and prosecution have not been taken.
18. Learned Counsel appearing for State stated that prosecution can be initiated only by State Pollution Control Board but when we placed before him Section 43, Section 49 (1) (p) of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as 'Water Act, 1974'), it could not be disputed that besides Board Officials, any person can initiate criminal proceedings against violators. In present case, State Authorities also could have taken action for initiating criminal prosecution against violators but no such action has been taken.
19. We also find that despite matter being pending for last more than one year, nothing substantially was improved with regard to quality of water of river Hindon and continuous discharge of 12 untreated sewage and trade effluent is still rampant, polluting river water continuously."
4. The Tribunal accordingly had directed as under:
"24. In these circumstances, we direct Member Secretary, UPPCB forthwith to initiate or get initiated criminal prosecution by lodging criminal complaint in appropriate court for committing offence under Section 43 read with Section 24 of Water Act, 1974 against the Officers-in-Charge of Municipal Corporations/Municipal Bodies of Saharanpur, Muzuffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar and also initiate criminal prosecution against industries which are discharging polluting materials in the river.
25. Besides, State Pollution Control Board and its authorities shall take immediate action for closure of the industrial and other establishments, which are discharging polluted matter in river Hindon and shall also proceed to assess and finalize adequate Environmental Compensation in view of the principles laid down by Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta, (1987) 1 SCC 395, Sterlite (2013) 4 SCC 575; Goel Ganga (2018) 18 SCC 257; Goa Foundation v Union of India & Ors. (2014) 6 SCC 590 and Common Cause Vs. UOI & Ors., (2017) 9 SCC 499 and take steps for recovery of the same."
5. The report dated 03.05.2024 has been filed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) stating as under:
"3. Status of Prosecution in compliance to Hon'ble NGT order In compliance to Hon'ble NGT order dated 15.12.2023 prosecution has been filed against Urban Local Bodies and Industries by the UPPCB. Prosecution has been filed against 03 industries (M/s AWF Collection, Muzaffarnagar; M/s Chaudhary Creations, Muzaffarnagar; M/s SK Collection, Muzaffarnagar) and 05 ULB's (M/s Nagar Palika Parishad, Sardhana, Meerut; M/s Nagar Palika Parishad, Loni, Ghaziabad; M/s Nagar Palika Parishad, Shamli, M/s Nagar Panchayat, Nanauta, Saharanpur; and Nagar Nigam, Ghaziabad). The complaint copy of prosecution is attached herewith annexed as Annexure-3. The rest 03 prosecutions against the Officers of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) in District Gautam Buddh Nagar are currently under process and will be filed soon. The complaint copy of rest three prosecution against Officers of GNIDA will be submitted within three weeks before Hon'ble Tribunal.
Further, it is most humbly prayed that the present litigation is not an adversarial litigation and UPPCB will not leave any stone unturned to get the order of this Hon'ble Tribunal complied in its true letter and spirit as regards the 13 maintenance of water quality of River Hindon and effective abatement of pollution in continuous manner.
The compliance report of the U.P. Pollution Control Board is hereby submitted for the kind consideration and perusal."
6. Along with report complaint filed under Section 43 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 against the Nagar Palika Parishad, Sardhana through the Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parishad, Loni, Ghaziabad through its Executive Officer and Nagar Nigam Ghaziabad through General Manager (Water) have been placed on record.
When the query was put to learned Counsel for the UPPCB as to why the prosecution is launched against the Nagar Nigam Ghaziabad through its General Manager (Water) and not through the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ghaziabad, he has sought time to examine the same. For this, no clear reason is reflected in the complaint.
7. Learned Counsel for the UPPCB has also submitted that the prosecution against the Officers of Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority in Gautam Budha Nagar is currently under process.
8. In respect of the other local bodies which are noted in paragraph 24 of the order dated 15.12.2023, no explanation in the report has been furnished and learned Counsel for UPPCB has sought time to obtain instructions.
9. We also find that in the report dated 03.05.2024 filed by the UPPCB, in respect of Ghaziabad (page 1659) the gap of sewage generation and treatment is shown to be zero, whereas in the report filed by the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam dated 03.05.2024, the position of untapped drain is reflected as under:
" Sl. Name of Tapped/ status
No. drain untapped
14
1 Hindon Untapped For Tapping of
Vihar Drain Hindon Vihar and
2 City Forest Untapped City Forest drain
Drain DPR of I&D works
Ghaziabad has been prepared
under Amrut 2.0
programme.
Discharge of both
the drains will be
treated at existing
56 MLD STP (GDA)
at Morti. Approval of
CWAP is
awaited.
3 Kaila Untapped For Tapping of Kaila
Bhatta, Bhatta and
Meerut Nandgram Drain,
Road Drain DPR for I&D works
4 Nandgram Untapped and construction of
Drain 55 MLD STP has
been prepared
under Amrut 2.0
programme.
Approval of CWAP
is awaited
5 Dasna Untapped For Tapping of
Drain Dasana drain, DPR
for I&D works and
construction of 40
MLD STP has been
prepared under
Amrut 2.0
programme.
Approval of CWAP
is awaited.
6 Pratap Untapped For Tapping of
Vihar Drain Pratap Vihar and
7 Rahul Vihar Untapped Rahul Vihar Drain
Drain DPR for I&D works
and construction of
40 MLD STP has
been prepared
under Amrut 2.0
programme.
Approval of CWAP
is awaited.
8 Arthla Drain Untapped For Arthla and
9 Karhera Untapped Karhera drains, a
Drain DPR of Ghaziabad
Sewerage Scheme
(Karhera Zone)
Amounting Rs.
546.95 Cr Under
Amrut 2.0
programme has
15
been Sectioned.
Work has been
started from dated
11.12.2023 "
10. Learned Counsel for the UPPCB has also failed to explain the said anomaly.
11. The report filed by UPPCB on 03.05.2024 states that prosecution has been initiated in terms of the direction of the Tribunal dated 15.12.2023 only against three industries, whereas in the area concerned there are 357 industries and it is not disclosed, if the other industries are complying with the norms. Besides above, report of UPPCB is deficient on following aspects:
i. Details have not been provided on performance of 19 STPs and compliance of norms by treated effluents with reference to BOD and FC.
ii. Further, details on number of untapped drains in each district i.e. Saharanpur, Baghpat, Meerut, Shamli, Gautam Budh Nagar and Muzaffarnagar have not been provided. The quantity and quality of sewage flowing in such drains and their confluence point with Hindon and other tributaries should be provided in the next report.
iii. Water quality of Hindon and its tributaries have not been furnished, except indicating that river Hindon at its end location has BOD as high as 20 mg/l. In the next report, number of drains joining the tributaries of Hindon like Krishani, Dhamola, West Kali, etc. be also disclosed.16
12. In the next report, the UPPCB will also disclose the details of water quality analysis of the STPs installed on the drains flowing in the river and also the water quality of river Hindon.
13. When a clear direction was issued to the Member Secretary, UPPCB in paragraph 24 of the order dated 15.12.2023 then he was required to comply with the same without any fear or favour and if there was any non-compliance or the reason for non-compliance, then he ought to have clearly stated it in its subsequent report dated 03.05.2024 but that does not appear to have been done by him.
14. In the circumstances mentioned above, we accept the prayer made by learned Counsel for the UPPCB for grant of two weeks' time to file the further report. The Member Secretary, UPPCB will remain virtually present on the next date of hearing.
15. List on 11.07.2024.
Prakash Shrivastava, CP Sudhir Agarwal, JM Dr. A. Senthil Vel, EM May 06, 2024 Original Application No. 859/2022 (I.A. No.769/2023 & I. A. No.632/2023) DV 17