NGT warns govt it will summon Chief Secy

New Delhi, May 3

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today warned the Uttarakhand government that it would call its Chief Secretary to explain the delay in implementation of a regulatory regime for camping activity in the Kaudiyala to Rishikesh belt on the banks of the Ganga.

A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar told the advocate appearing for the state that people associated with camping activity in the area were suffering due to the delay. “These people are suffering. You (state government) indulge in propaganda that the NGT has stopped it but what are you doing? You look what you have done. Are you not serious about revenue,” the Bench asked.

The green panel directed the counsel to inform it about the entire policy for camping and rafting activity there. “We make it clear that if the counsel (for the state) has no clear instructions, the Chief Secretary will be called,” the Bench said and posted the matter for May 10.

The Bench was hearing arguments in the matter in which it had on December 10 last year banned camping activity there till a regulatory regime comes into force. However, it had permitted rafting with immediate effect.

The advocate appearing for the camping associations told the Bench today that the state government had not implemented the guidelines. “Rafting is an integral part of camping activity. It is this sport that has brought Uttarakhand on the tourist map. The regulatory policy has not been implemented,” he said.

He claimed that “This is a conspiracy. There is a strong lobby of hoteliers there and they are benefiting. They (government) are delaying the policy.” The counsel appearing for the state requested the Bench for more time to seek instructions on these issues.

The NGT was hearing a plea by NGO Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE) against the “unregulated” operation of rafting camps in Rishikesh and other areas on the banks of the Ganga.

The panel had earlier constituted a committee of officials from various departments of the Central and Uttarakhand governments to prepare a regulatory regime on the issue.

The NGO, in its plea, had alleged that rafting camps were not only in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 but also the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, as they polluted the Ganga by discharging effluents and throwing solid waste and adversely affecting the ecological integrity of the river system. PTI