New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has rapped the Uttar Pradesh government for failing to check sewage discharge containing toxic chromium into Ganga at Rania and Rakhi Mandi in Kanpur and imposed a penalty of 280 crore on 22 tanneries for causing pollution.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also held the UP government liable and slapped a penalty of Rs 10 crore on it. The green panel said the problem has not been tackled for the last 43 years and it has resulted in contamination of ground water affecting the health and life of the inhabitants.
The environment compensation of Rs 280.01 crore was assessed by the state pollution control board. “The fact remains that the problem has not been tackled for the last 43 years and it has resulted in contamination of ground water affecting the health and life of the inhabitants and fauna. Compensation has been assessed only in the year 2019 without it being clear whether there is a chance of actual recovery of the same.
There is no explanation for earlier inaction by the State of UP and the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB),” the bench said. The NGT said that for this failure, under the “Public Trust Doctrine”, the state government is liable to deposit the said assessed amount in an ESCROW account for restoration of environment and the public health in the area.
The deposit may be made within a month, the tribunal said. (PTI)
