Ganga pollution: NGT pulls up Akhilesh Yadav govt, asks 'what initiatives have been taken so far'

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday pulled up the Akhilesh Yadav-led Uttar Pradesh government and asked as to what all slew of measures it has taken so far to curb pollution in river Ganga, the holiest river in India.

"Do you really know what you are doing about this tribunal?" the NGT asked the state government while hearing the Ganga pollution case.

The NGT has asked the state authorities, involved in the process of cleaning of river Ganga, to provide details of all industrial clusters located between Haridwar and Unnao.

"We direct Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, UP Jal Nigam and Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation to furnish details of all the industrial cluster operating in segment B including the industries situated in the tributaries of River Ganga and their nature,” the bench said.

The state government informed the tribunal that they don't wish to shift tanneries from Kanpur which is the major cause of pollution in Ganga.

The Central Pollution Control Board also told the tribunal that its final report would be ready in a week.

NGT had earlier said it was “unfortunate” that various authorities involved in Ganga rejuvenation have not been able to provide the exact number of drains polluting the river between Haridwar to Unnao, their load and quality of effluent released in the river till date.

It had directed a joint inspection team to sit with senior officers of CPCB, UP Pollution Control Board, UP Jal Nigam and the Ministry of Water Resources and submit “commonly compiled” statement with respect to drains, quality of effluent and reasons for differentiation of data.

On October 19, the NGT had constituted a joint inspection team of Member Secretary of CPCB, chief engineer of UP Jal Nigam, a senior environmental officer from UPPCB and a representative from National Mission for Clean Ganga to collect information on the quantum and quality of waste being released into the river.

It had slammed the UP government and its agencies over cleaning of the river and asked them to submit a detailed plan on how they intended to spend money allotted by the Centre under the 'Namami Gange' programme.

The matter will be next heard on January 11, 2017.