Buddha Nullah pollution: PPCB told to appear before NGT on Dec 23
Realising the seriousness of pollution in the Buddha Nullah, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the PPCB to appear before the court on December 23 to clarify certain things regarding Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs).
As the NGT was hearing the appeal filed by the Bahadurke Road Textile Association about the 15 MLD CETP requesting that if 40 MLD and 50 MLD CETPs can get stay and their case should also be considered, the Tribunal asked the PPCB to appear in the case on December 23 itself instead of March 20, 2025, the date given by the NGT earlier in CETP hearing case.
Though the written orders by the NGT in today’s case were still awaited, the lawyer for ‘Kale Pani Da Morcha’ campaign in Delhi, who attended the hearing on Monday, clarified that the Tribunal has asked the PPCB to file an affidavit on the next date of hearing on December 23.
The activist of the morcha campaign, Jaskirat Singh, in Delhi on Monday brought it to the notice of the NGT that how the PPCB was “misinterpreting” the Tribunal’s stay orders given to the CETPs.
The advocate of the campaign said the NGT had clarified that it was not a blanket stay for both 40 MLD and 50 MLD treatment plants, as was being projected but it was conditional stay subject to the environmental condition and orders cannot be misinterpreted in larger interest of society.
On December 5, 2024, the PPCB had issued an order saying: “The case is considered. The 15 MLD CETP case is similar in nature to that of the cases of CETPs of 40 MLD and 50 MLD. All CETPs were given similar directions to stop discharge of treated effluent into the Buddha Nullah. The NGT after consideration of the matter has issued directions vide order dated November 4, 2024, by clubbing the matters of the 40 MLD and 50 MLD cases that no coercive action shall be taken against the CETPs (40 and 50 MLD). Considering this aspect, the 15 MLD CETP is hereby given a reasonable period of time to produce the orders of the NGT at par with that of the 40 and 50 MLD CETP cases, failing which action in accordance with law will be taken”.
Nowhere in the above mentioned order by the PPCB is written the complete order of the NGT passed on November 4, 2024, that “Considering the circumstances of the case, we direct that till the next date of hearing no coercive steps in pursuant to the impugned order will be taken subject to compliance of environmental norms and clearance conditions”.
Bobby Jindal from the Punjab Dyers Association said they had got the stay as their water was to be used for irrigation in the fields and it was the duty of respective governments to arrange everything for it. “We had put money on CETPs as the government had assured that all water of the nullah from STPs and CETPs will be used for irrigation now, it is the responsibility of the government to do the needful and why should we be penalised if the government failed to make further arrangements to use water for irrigation?” he asked.
