Varanasi Tent City project| NGT seeks joint committee's report on allegations of flouting environmental norms

In an application filed against the Tent City project in the riverbed of Ganga at Varanasi, the National Green Tribunal has recently constituted a seven-member joint committee and directed it to table a factual report on allegations of flouting environmental norms.

The committee has been tasked to ascertain the legality of the project, the impact of the project on the Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary, river Ganga and integrity of the flood plain and mandate of Ganga order 2016 and any other incidental issues like liquid and solid waste management, power supply and its sources.

The application filed by one Tushar Goswami through Advocate Saurabh Tiwari alleged that the project which spans over 100 acres area for commercial purposes is detrimental to the flora and fauna of the area and that it has already resulted in untreated sewage going directly into river Ganga.

The NGT bench comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (Chairperson), Justice Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member) and Dr. A. Senthil Vel (Expert Member) noted that the allegations, if true, depict serious violations of environmental norms.

Therefore, the bench constituted the joint committee which will consist of NMCG, MoEF&CC, CPCB, Chief Wild Life Warden, Uttar Pradesh, Irrigation and Water Resource Department, Uttar Pradesh, State PCB and District Magistrate, Varanasi. NMCG and State PCB will jointly be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance.

The NGT has also directed that it will be open to the committee to conduct proceedings online or offline, to undertake a visit to the site and interact with concerned authorities and stakeholders.

The committee has been directed to furnish its report to the Tribunal within two months.