NGT asks NTPC to prevent muck disposal in U'khand's Dhauliganga River

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) to take necessary steps to prevent muck disposal in Dhauliganga River in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

The NGT observed in the photographs annexed to the report which showed a possibility of the muck reaching into the river system and said it needs to be prevented by way of adequate protective measures.

"Let the NTPC and the Tehri Development Corporation Limited (TDCL) take necessary steps in the matter forthwith. Once such steps are identified by an expert committee comprising Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla, Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Dehradun and the SPCB," the court observed.

The court said that the State Pollution Control Board will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. "The Committee may give its report within one month," the NGT stated in its order.

The tribunal direction came after taking note of the Uttarakhand State Pollution Control Board (Uttarakhand SPCB) report mentioning the muck disposal sites.

The NGT has now asked SPCB to file a compliance report by March 31 and listed the matter for further consideration on April 20, 2020.

The Green Tribunal was hearing Gram Pradhan and Residents of Tapoban's petition who have lost to inhabitants in the course of the construction of barrage by National Thermal Power Corporation Limited in the year 2005.

The applicant said that their land was taken for the Vaishnugad project in village Tapovan in the Chamoli district but no employment was given.