Dumping of plastic causing serious environment degradation in river banks: SC

STATE TIMES NEWS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said dumping of plastic is causing serious environment degradation and also impacting aquatic life in the river banks and water bodies in the country.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said collective effort is required to be made by the responsible authorities with the cooperation of people.
“The dumping of plastic is causing serious environment degradation and also impacting aquatic life in the river banks and the water bodies in the country. Unless concerted effort is made by the responsible authorities with people’s cooperation, irrespective of the efforts to target illegal/unauthorized constructions, the desired improvement of the quality of the water in river Ganga/all other rivers and water bodies in the country will remain illusory,” the bench said. The top court directed Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati to file an affidavit within four weeks on the issue.
The bench also clarified its earlier order directing the Bihar government to ensure that no further illegal construction or unauthorised encroachment takes place adjacent to the river Ganga, particularly in and around Patna City.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Patna resident Ashok Kumar Sinha against a June 30, 2020 order of NGT dismissing his plea against illegal constructions and permanent encroachments on the eco-fragile floodplains.
The plea contended that the tribunal passed the order without examining the detailed particulars of the violators encroaching upon the Ganga floodplains in Patna submitted by the appellant. “The illegal and unauthorized constructions and permanent encroachments on the floodplain of Ganga are creating tremendous amounts of waste, noise and generating vast quantum of sewage.
The plea stated that the tribunal failed to note the fact that a clean Ganga river was vital and essential to meet the drinking and domestic water needs of 5.5 lakh population of the city as the groundwater in the district was contaminated with Arsenic. “A massive 520 acres of ecologically sensitive Ganga floodplain, stretching from Nauzer Ghat to Nurpur Ghat, in Patna, have been usurped. This stretch is prone to recurrent floods every year.
“A multi-storey building, belonging to the Takhat Shri Harmandir Sahib, has further come up since 2017 and parts, thereof, are still under construction,” the plea said.