NGT seeks Centre response on plea to deconcretise soil surface

The National Green Tribunal today sought response of the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government on a plea for deconcretisation of soil surfaces, including tree roots, in both residential and commercial areas in the neighbouring city of Ghaziabad as well as across the country.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also issued notice to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam and sought their responses by September 2.
"Issue notice. Returnable on September 2," the bench said on the plea of environmentalist Akash Vashishtha alleging that the "extensive and mindless" tiling or concretisation of the land is not only preventing rain water from recharging the ground water, but is also "choking" trees to death.

"Mindless concretisation of urban areas have also increased the impervious land cover in Ghaziabad, which is preventing rain water percolation and recharge of groundwater aquifers.
"Large scale, extensive concretisation undertaken by the agencies is also choking innumerable trees to death and preventing any possibility of a rise in the future tree cover," the petition filed through advocates Pushpinder Singh Sodhi and Manish Vashishta said.
The petition, which seeks a stop on the tiling activities across the country, contended that the concretisation is being carried out in violation of Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation's guidelines providing for greening and landscaping of urban areas.

The guidelines prohibit excessive tiling of pavements except those with heavy foot traffic, direct use of porous materials for the purpose and amongst its other norms also provide that a minimum area of 6 x 6 ft around trees be left uncemented, the petition said.