The tribunal said any individual, company or government body found to be dumping waste into the river could be fined Rs50,000. “There shall be no dumping or landfill sites for any kind of waste irrespective of any technology for waste processing, within 500 metres from the edge of the river Ganga and/or its tributaries,” the NGT order further said. NGT also directed the authorities to ensure that, “there are no encroachments, unauthorized illegal constructions on the banks/flood plain of the major drains, river Ganga and its tributaries”. “On the contrary, there has been tremendous increase in the pollution levels adversely effecting the water quality of the river Ganga and its tributaries. It remains undisputed before the Tribunal that no part of river Ganga and its tributaries is free of pollution as of today,” the NGT bench noted.

Source: Mint July 13, 2017 07:25 UTC