NGT seeks ATR for waste mgmt on Uttarakhand pilgrim tracks

The tribunal had earlier said that there was ‘serious failure’ on the part of Uttarakhand govt in waste management across pilgrimage tracks of Kedarnath, Hemkund Sahib, Yamunotri & Gomukh

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waste on Uttarakhand pilgrimage tracks

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has asked for submission of the action taken report regarding compliance of its direction on waste management on four pilgrimage tracks in Uttarakhand. The authorities have been directed to submit the report within three weeks.

The tribunal gave this order while hearing a petition claiming non-compliance with the February order, which sought remedial action for violations of environmental norms, particularly waste management, on the four pilgrim tracks of Kedarnath, Hemkund Sahib, Yamunotri and Gomukh.

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The NGT had formed a panel and directed the authorities concerned to take stock of the situation, prepare a roadmap and take measures, including reviewing and planning infrastructure, for waste management.

A bench of acting chairperson Justice SK Singh noted that a direction for “further action” had been issued to the committee, comprising the state’s chief secretary, additional chief secretary, director-general of police, the district magistrates of Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi, and others.

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On Tuesday, the bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member A Senthil Vel, directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board and the Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi district magistrates to submit within three weeks the “action taken report in compliance with the tribunal’s order dated February 8, 2023.

“We further direct the additional chief secretary, environment and forest, to furnish status on meeting/review conducted by the committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary in three weeks,” the bench said in its Tuesday order. The matter has been posted to September 4 for further proceedings.