National Green Tribunal forms commission to inspect Bengaluru lakes
Unhappy with the Karnataka government’s reply regarding the revival of the Bellandur, Varthur and Agara lakes, the National Green Tribunal set up a commission comprising officials and experts to inspect Bengaluru’s polluted lakes. The committee posed a series of questions to civic agencies regarding pollution and repeated instances of fire breakouts in waterbodies. The inspection was conducted on April 14 and 15, 2018.
Drilling for oil and minerals in forest land require green nod, says Forest Advisory Committee
The Union Environment Ministry's forest advisory committee has informed that drilling of boreholes on forest land for prospecting of minerals and oil exploration will not be exempted from the ambit of clearances. Instead, a simplified procedure will be put in place to ensure compliance. The Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mines and Coal had approached the environment ministry seeking relaxations in prospecting on forest lands.
Indian Railways to pilot project to provide water according to BIS parameters in New Delhi
The Indian Railways has decided to run a pilot project at the New Delhi Railway Station to provide water according to the parameters specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Special funds have been permitted for the procurement of multi-parameter water quality field test kits to ensure the agency meets criteria under BIS: 10500-2012 for drinking water quality. A PIL had earlier sought an independent probe into manipulations in awarding chlorination contracts and the quality of drinking water supplied by the Railways.
Two new landfills to come up in the Yamuna river zone in East Delhi
East Delhi Municipal Corporation has secured permission from the Central Pollution Control Board for setting up two new landfills as an alternative to the one in Ghazipur in the Yamuna river zone. The landfills will come up in Ghonda Gujran Khadar and Sonia Vihar after necessary environmental clearances are obtained. Both these sites are located at less than 2000 metres from River Yamuna and could lead to serious ecological and environmental crises if and when the landfills commence operations.
NGT seeks list of industries in Ghaziabad and Hapur over allegations of illegal extraction of groundwater
Taking cognisance of a plea alleging incessant extraction of groundwater, the National Green Tribunal has sought a list of various industries of Ghaziabad and Hapur districts in Uttar Pradesh. The Bench noted that failure to submit the list would entail serious penalties as groundwater situation in the districts was seriously compromised. The petitioner had sought the closure of all units which were illegally extracting groundwater in notified areas of Ghaziabad and Hapur.
This is a roundup of important policy matters published between April 10 and 16. Also, read the news this week.