Vrindavan, 2016.02.24 (VT): Despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT) giving strict orders not to dump on the Yamuna flood plain, this activity is still going on. Furthermore, illegal constructions have not been removed. The Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority has tried to take some action, but hundreds of illegal constructions still remain untouched, putting the Yamuna and the environment at further risk.
The petitioner to the NGT Madhumangal Shukla said that he filed photographs as evidence last December 28 that show debris along the river. He said, “This is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Even though the NGT directives are quite strict, the city is not heeding them and creating a threat to the environment and the survival of the Yamuna.”
The next hearing is scheduled for March 5.
Shukla also said that even after the NGT order the situation has not improved. The District Administration does not seem to be treating certain areas seriously. In order to save the Yamuna, encroachments have to be removed all at once from the flood plain. Construction rubble is still being dumped on many of the old historic ghats also.
It is to be noted that in a previous hearing, the NGT order the municipality to stop burning waste and to stop dumping in the ghats and banks of the river. Vihar Ghat, Cheer Ghat, Jugal Ghat, Bhramar Ghat and Cheer Haran Ghat are the ones that are most affected.
Shukla says that the NGT’s latest decision has not yet come, but he hopes that the Tribunal will give strict orders in favor of preserving the Yamuna environmental protection.
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