Ensure strict action against disposal of sewage & industrial waste into sea: NGT to coastal states, UTs

Hearing a plea filed by retired Lieutenant General Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi seeking guidelines to improve the quality of seawater, National Green Tribunal has directed all the coastal states and union territories to strictly punish those who dispose of sewage and industrial waste into the sea by imposing heavy fines on the violators.

New Delhi: To prevent the disposal of sewage and industrial waste into the sea, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh ​​Kumar Goel has directed all the coastal states and union territories to punish those who dispose waste into the sea by imposing fines on the violators.

The NGT said that the State Pollution Control Boards and Chief Secretaries of all coastal states and union territories should prepare their action plan to stop the dumping of waste.

The NGT has directed all the states and union territories to submit their reports to the Central Pollution Control Board and the board needs to file a composite report by 21 September.

On 3 December 2019, the NGT had directed the Central Pollution Control Board to file a composite action plan within three months. The states from which the NGT had summoned the action plan included Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar and Puducherry.

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The Central Pollution Control Board, while providing the action plan on March 11, said that the treated and untreated industrial waste was being dumped into the sea from 171 major drains.

During the earlier hearing, the NGT had maintained that the seawater should be fit for marine life.

India has a coastline of more than seven and a half thousand kilometres. The NGT had said that 77 cities in India are located along the sea with some having a dense population.

The petition has been filed by retired Lieutenant General Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi demanding the guidelines to be issued to improve the quality of seawater of coastal areas.

The petition cited a 1982-86 report of the Central Pollution Control Board mentioning pollution level into the sea due to the sewage waste and regular violation of environmental regulations. The petition also stated despite the formation of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority there is no reduction in sea pollution.

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