Inspection ordered over Ganga pollution in UP

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Wednesday directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and its Uttar Pradesh unit to inspect a sugar mill, a distillery and a dairy plant on whether they were discharging effluents into the Ganga river.

The NGT was inquiring into whether the Simbhaoli Sugar Mills and Distilleries and the Goplaljee Dairy unit were discharging effluents through a drain into the river system at Pooth, 15 km from Garhmukteswar in western Uttar Pradesh.

Coming down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) for granting consent to the three units in 2010, the NGT said most of the pollution norms were overlooked by the board to allow the units to function.

The tribunal directed the UPPCB and CPCB member secretaries to urgently inspect the three units Wednesday night, while ordering all the three units to function at their full capacity at the time of inspection.

The NGT asked the two boards to present their findings Feb 18.

A petition filed by NGO Social Action for Forests and Environment (SAFE) said the three units were directly discharging effluents into the Ganga through a drain, which had also polluted the ground water in nearby villages.

It said the effluents was also affecting the biodiversity of the area, which has fresh water dolphins, turtles, crocodiles and over 300 species of fish.