NGT forms panel to probe violation of green laws in Haryana

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, January 5

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) constituted a joint panel to probe violation of environment laws by discharging untreated effluents in drains by illegal dyeing units operational in the NCR border districts of the state — Faridabad, Sonepat, Jhajjar and Gurugram — which leads to Yamuna.

The NGT directed the joint committee comprising of a representative of Member Secretary (MS), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), MS, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and District Magistrates of Sonepat, Faridabad, Gurugram and Jhajjar, to ascertain the ground report in all these districts.

A Delhi-based environmentalist, Varun Gulati, had filed a complaint with the NGT in December last year in which he alleged that over 500 dyeing units were operating in the residential and non-confirming areas — Dheeraj Nagar and Surya Vihar in Faridabad; Friends Colony, Pyau Maniyari, Ferozpur Bangar in Sonepat; Bajghera, Dhankot, Dhanwapur and Sector 37 in Gurugram and Badsa village in Jhajjar district and Nizampur in Bahadurgarh.

The dyeing units are under the ‘red category’ and are grossly polluted and are operating without consent to operate (CTO), consent to establish (CTE), NOC from Water resource authority and without any permission from the authorities concerned, the complainant alleged.

It said that these illegal dyeing units were discharging their untreated effluents directly into the drains or open land which posed serious health hazard to the people residing in nearby colonies and areas.

There is no common effluent treatment plant in the areas concerned due to which the untreated effluent from the units in Faridabad is going directly into Badshahpur drain, the effluent from the units in Gurugram directly goes into Sahibi river, the effluent of units in Badsa village and Nizampur flows directly into Mungeshpur drain in Delhi and the untreated effluent from the units in Sonepat district flows directly into drain number 6 and all these drains leads to Yamuna river. The untreated effluent is a big reason behind the pollution of Yamuna, the complainant said.

Following the complaint, the Principal Bench headed by Chairman Justice Prakash Srivastava ordered the constitution of a joint committee comprising a representative of Member Secretary (MS), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), MS, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and District Magistrates of Sonepat, Faridabad, Gurugram and Jhajjar districts.