The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to West Bengal’s environment secretary following dissatisfaction with reports concerning the pollution of the River Ganga in the state.
The tribunal has expressed grave concerns over the handling of pollution control measures and has demanded an explanation from the state government.
The NGT's dissatisfaction stems from reports submitted by district magistrates and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
Issues highlighted include numerous untapped drains, high levels of faecal coliform contamination, and the failure to present a district-wise plan for preventing wastewater discharge.
The tribunal also criticised the excessively long timelines for establishing sewage treatment plants (STPs).
In its recent order, the NGT referenced a Supreme Court directive from February 22, 2017, which mandated a three-year timeline for the construction of central effluent treatment plants (CETPs) and STPs.
The deadline for these measures was February 21, 2020. Despite this, many STPs in urban local bodies (ULBs) along the Ganga remain incomplete, resulting in untreated sewage continuing to flow into the river.
The tribunal has instructed the state environment secretary to submit a response to these issues at least one week before the next hearing scheduled for March 3, 2025.
The NGT’s scrutiny revealed that district magistrates from Purba Medinipur, Murshidabad, Malda West, and Nadia reported significant amounts of untreated sewage being discharged into the river. However, the reports from North 24 Parganas and several other districts were found to be lacking or absent.
The tribunal’s bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and expert member A Senthil Vel, identified several deficiencies in the reports from both the district magistrates and the NMCG.
These include reliance on septic tanks and soak pits, which lead to sewage leakage into the ground, insufficient data on the performance of existing STPs, and many drains that remain untapped or only partially tapped.
The water quality assessments have highlighted an "unhygienic status" due to high levels of faecal coliform and faecal streptococcus.
The NMCG’s report was criticised for being too general, lacking detailed district-wise status, and setting unrealistic timelines for the establishment of STPs, extending into 2025 and beyond.
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