NGT stays dumping of waste in Noida city park

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday put a stay on the dumping of garbage and municipal waste at a city forest and park in Noida Sector 54 on a plea by residents who claimed people there were getting sick due to this.

As the plea said that this illegal and unscientific disposal of waste was affecting residents of Sectors 22, 23, 53, 55 and 56, a bench headed by the green panel's Acting Chairperson, Justice Jawad Rahim took strong exception to the dumping at the site and ordered removal of the waste within 10 days.

The order came after advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, appearing for the Noida residents, argued that dumping of solid and medical waste in huge quantity in the middle of a city forest by the Noida Authority had degraded environment and caused severe health hazards.

He pointed out that despite the tribunal's order to dump the waste at Sector 123, the Noida Authority was dumping 600 tonnes of waste daily in Sector 54 in clear violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The counsel for the Noida Authority, however, said that no dumping was taking place at the site and only segregation of garbage was being carried out there.

The green court was hearing a plea filed by Resident Welfare Associations of Sectors 22, 23, 53, 55 and 56 seeking directions to immediately stop dumping of solid waste at the site in Sector 54.

"The unauthorised dumping is being carried out in at least four tanks, which are excellent water bodies where migratory birds are seen and where such dumping is completely ruining the groundwater through leaching.

"It is also important to emphasise that adjacent to the illegal dump is a huge fully developed park known as Forest View Park, now almost abandoned due to this illegal and unauthorised dumping," said their plea, filed through advocate Upama Bhattacharjee.

The residents also alleged in their petition that the Noida Authority had been illegally felling trees without proper permission under the UP Protection of Trees Act, 1976.

--IANS

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