NGT directs CPCB panel to prepare restoration plan for Sitarganj in 3 months

Terming the situation as alarming, the bench had directed its registry to register the villagers' letter as a petition and asked the Uttarakhand state pollution control board to inspect the industrial units around the village. The NGT had issued notices to the Uttarakhand government, District Magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar, SPCB, and Managing Director of SIDCUL, and sought their responses.

The National Green Tribunal has directed a committee headed by Central Pollution Control Board to prepare an environmental restoration plan within three months for Uttarakhand's Sitarganj area after the CPCB found industrial units violating pollution norms. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said it is necessary that steps are taken for the restoration of the environment, the supply of drinking water to the inhabitants and disbursement of compensation to the victims. The tribunal had said it is beyond any doubt that air and water pollution was taking place by industries located in the vicinity of Uttarakhand village of Siddh Garbyang.

"In view of the above, the assessed compensation may be recovered and deposited with the state pollution control board. The joint committee may prepare an environmental restoration plan within three months and execute the same under supervision of the state pollution control and the District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar. "The nodal agency will be the District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar for coordination and compliance. The District Legal Service Authority may assess the claims of the victims, if any and if no claim is filed upto December 31, 2020, the entire or the leftover amount may be returned to the state pollution control board," the bench said. If the amount is deficient, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) will make up the same on the amount being determined by the District Legal Service Authority, the NGT said.

"If the assessed compensation is not paid by the concerned polluting units, the state pollution control board may take coercive measures including the closure of the unit," the bench said. The tribunal had earlier appointed senior advocate Raj Panjwani and advocate Meera Gopal to assist it on a complaint of the residents of the Uttarakhand village, alleging discharge of untreated chemical effluents in drains by industries located in the vicinity.

The villagers had contended that there was a complete violation of environmental laws and pollution norms by a large number of industries at the SIDCUL industrial park, located in the vicinity of Siddh Garbyang. Terming the situation as alarming, the bench had directed its registry to register the villagers' letter as a petition and asked the Uttarakhand state pollution control board to inspect the industrial units around the village.

The NGT had issued notices to the Uttarakhand government, District Magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar, SPCB, and Managing Director of SIDCUL, and sought their responses. The state pollution board was directed to identify the industries which were discharging untreated effluent and causing air and groundwater pollution. It had also been asked to inform the tribunal on whether the industries were complying with the conditions of environment clearance.

The complainants had said the industrial units were spewing black soot which deposited black dust on the village houses, especially in the morning and evening hours due to which it was difficult for the residents to sit outside their houses or do any work. "During the rainy season, the effluent spread over the agriculture fields and even the tube wells of the village are having coloured water which is not fit for human or animal consumption," the petition had said.