NGT notice to depts over violation of pollution norms by 366 Faridabad units

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to various departments, including the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), Central Pollution Control Board and the District Magistrate, in connection with alleged violation of pollution norms by 366 units operating in various parts of the city.

The tribunal has directed the authorities concerned to submit their report after constitution of a joint committee to look into the charges levelled in the petition lodged with it. The next date of hearing has been fixed on May 20.

The NGT order comes in response to a petition filed by one Narender Sirohi, a resident here, on February 2 in which he has alleged that a large number of industrial units situated in the area comprising the villages of Saroorpur, Kureshipur, Madalpur, Karnera, Fatehpur Tagah, Nangla, Nekpur, Ghazipur, Kheri Gujran and Bhankri in the district had been operating in gross violation of environmental norms and without the permission of departments like the HSPCB.

Issuing notice to the respondents which includes the Representative of the Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Member Secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB); Regional Office, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); and District Magistrate, Faridabad, the NGT has asked the applicant to serve notice to the departments concerned and file an affidavit of service at least one week before the next hearing date.

“We also deem it proper to constitute a Joint Committee (JC) comprising Representative of the Member Secretary, CPCB, Member Secretary, HSPCB, Regional Office, MOEF & CC, Chandigarh, and the District Magistrate, Faridabad,” says the order issued recently.

Adding that the District Magistrate (DC) would act as nodal agency in the JC which will visit the site to ascertain the correctness of the allegations and find out the units that are operating without the necessary environmental clearance and had been causing environmental pollution, the order has directed the committee to check the geo-coordinates of the units disclosed in the petition to ascertain if the units had been operating on those locations and flouting norms. The committee has been asked to submit the report before the tribunal within eight weeks, it is revealed.

The applicant has alleged violation of environmental norms by over 366 units, of which many have been claimed to be using coal in the industrial furnace in an illegal manner, besides burning of plastic and metal scraps, leading to health hazards for thousands of residents. It has been submitted that the majority of the units here operating unlawfully on agricultural land do not have the mandatory Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) permission from the Pollution Control Department.