New Delhi. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) expressed concern over the increasing pollution in the rivers and directed the government to put in place an appropriate mechanism for effective monitoring of the measures taken for pollution control in rivers and the revival of all polluted riverine areas in the country.
On Thursday, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that the mechanism could be called the National River Revival Mechanism (NRRM) or given some other name. The system may also consider setting up national, state and district environmental data grids for effective monitoring.
The bench said that the chief secretaries of all states and union territories should work as a mission to initiate new projects and complete existing projects in a time bound manner.
Revival of rivers should not be limited to only 351 places: NGT
The NGT said that the restoration work of the rivers should not be limited to just 351 places, but it can be applied to all small, medium and large polluted rivers, even dried up rivers. The NGT had earlier formed a Central Monitoring Committee with the objective of making over 350 polluted riverine areas of the country pollution free.
The quality of rivers is getting worse
The NGT said that despite the Water Act enacted in 1974, the water of rivers is getting polluted and its quality is deteriorating. The bench’s directive came after an article published in a newspaper said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified 351 polluted river areas of which 117 are in Assam, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The board has raised concerns about increasing pollution in rivers from the respective states.
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