New Delhi:
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday directed authorities to take action against slaughterhouses for illegal extraction of groundwater. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said groundwater cannot be extracted without permission of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
The tribunal said that a lack of pollution-control devices in slaughterhouses has resulted in huge pollution of river Yamuna on account of discharge of effluents by slaughterhouses. It is clear that there is illegal extraction of groundwater without the permission of CGWA, it said, adding “Groundwater can be allowed to be extracted only after Environment Impact Assessment by the CGWA.” The NGT said that the authorities must also maintain vigilance against illegal operation of such units which are found to be non-functional during inspection. “Such units may not be allowed to operate till compliance of environmental law and till payment of compensation for their illegal operation in the past. “In view of high level of pollution found in the water samples of the drains, the state pollution control board must initiate a drive to ascertain the sources of such pollution and take remedial action,” it said.
The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by journalist Shailesh Singh against illegal operation of slaughterhouses in Khurja in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, discharging effluents into the groundwater, drains, rivers and extracting groundwater without any lawful authority.
