New Delhi, Oct 8 Noting the failure of the Ghaziabad municipal authorities to comply with its directive to implement a waste management system in Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a joint committee to verify the facts and take remedial action.
The committee comprising of Commissioner, Meerut Division, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), State PCB, Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam and District Magistrate has been asked to conduct a meeting with all stakeholders within two weeks and take remedial action within two months thereafter.
The committee has also been tasked to ascertain whether there (Raj Nagar Extension) is any plan for waste management in the city of Ghaziabad. It will also examine whether a processing plant to process day to day waste has been set up.
The tribunal's directive in the matter came after hearing a fresh plea alleging continued dumping of municipal waste at Bhatta Road in Raj Nagar Extension, which is six kilometres away from the Air Force's Hindon air base.
The applicant has referred to an earlier order issued by the NGT in September 2015, dealing with a similar grievance, during which the municipal authority had submitted that it would take all appropriate steps to ensure that the entire debris or any other waste dumped on the bank of the Hindon river is removed and precautionary and preventive measures are taken without any further default and delay.
"In violation of above, dumping of waste is now taking place at Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad. In vicinity thereof, there are around 40 societies in which people are living and around 16 societies are being built. Approximately 40,000 to 45,000 people have started living in the area and around 10,000 new flats are being constructed. There is not a single dustbin," the applicants, who are the residents of Raj Nagar Extension, said in their plea.
The joint committee may also interact with the authorities of the air base and other stakeholders.
Subsequently, the principal bench of the Tribunal headed by its chairman Adarsh Kumar Goel in a direction issued on October 7 said, "The joint committee will interact with the concerned authorities of the air base and other stakeholders. Further, whether existing legacy waste dump site at Shakti Khand has been tackled, the data of waste generation, daily deposition of waste, legacy waste added on continuous basis and remedial action including funds and monitoring mechanism."
The bench has fixed the date for the next hearing in the matter on February 8, 2022.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor