NGT appoints Anant Singh member of committee monitoring Ganga pollution: NGT

Accordingly, Anant Kumar Singh, IAS Retd stationed at Lucknow, will now stand substituted in place of Anup Chandra Pandey as Member of the Committee from the date Singh joins, the bench said.The NGT had in December last year extended the term of an oversight committee to monitor pollution of Ganga river and oversee compliance of environmental norms in Uttar Pradesh.It said that unless the UP government sets up any other effective alternative mechanism, it may not be advisable to close the committee abruptly.Accordingly, the term of the oversight committee, for the time being, will be extended for six months.

The National Green Tribunal has appointed former IAS officer Anant Kumar Singh as a member of the oversight committee on monitoring pollution of the Ganga and overseeing compliance of environmental norms in Uttar Pradesh in place of Anup Chandra Pandey who has taken over as Election Commissioner.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel made the appointment after taking note of a letter from Pandey, stating that he has demitted office as the committee member.

''We have also received a letter from Justice SVS Rathore, former Judge of Allahabad High Court, Chairman of the Oversight Committee, suggesting that Anant Kumar Singh, IAS (Retd) who has long experience of administration and environmental issues in UP on account his working at various levels in the State and also as Secretary to the Government of India, may be substituted in place of Anup Chandra Pandey.

''Having considered the matter, we do not find any objection to the proposal being accepted. Accordingly, Anant Kumar Singh, IAS (Retd) stationed at Lucknow, will now stand substituted in place of Anup Chandra Pandey as Member of the Committee from the date Singh joins,'' the bench said.

The NGT had in December last year extended the term of an oversight committee to monitor pollution of Ganga river and oversee compliance of environmental norms in Uttar Pradesh.

It said that unless the UP government sets up any other effective alternative mechanism, it may not be advisable to close the committee abruptly.

Accordingly, the term of the oversight committee, for the time being, will be extended for six months. If the State of U.P. has any other suggestion, it will be open to put forward the same, it said.

''We also request the oversight committee to monitor compliance of directions to oversee preparation of District Environment Management Plans (DEMPs) and their execution by the District Environment Committees (DECs) in terms of order of this tribunal,'' the Bench had said.

The tribunal noted that initially the tenure of the oversight committee was for six months which was subsequently extended at different intervals.

The oversight committee replaced earlier panels appointed by the tribunal to monitor pollution of Ganga, rejuvenation of river Hindon and associated issues, sand mining at Allahabad, pollution of thermal power stations in Singrauli, pollution of Ramgarh lake and River Ami in Gorakhpur, solid and biomedical waste management norms etc.

The committee has also been requested to monitor compliance of some other environmental issues also such as relating to water bodies.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)