NGT issues notice to CPCB, others over sewage-contamination of potable water in UP, MP, Raj

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has sought the response of the Central Pollution Control Board and others on media reports about sewage-contaminated water being supplied to residents in several cities in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The green body on Tuesday took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of two newspaper reports regarding the alleged supply of contaminated water.

A Tribuna bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said the first report highlighted grave health risks as allegedly sewage water had mixed with drinking water pipelines because of corroded and decades-old infrastructure in several Rajasthan cities, including Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Banswara, Jaipur, Ajmer and Bora.

It noted that the report claimed an Indore-like tragedy in the Rajasthan cities. Seven people died in Indore's Bhagirathpura area recently following a diarrhoea outbreak triggered by the consumption of contaminated water.

The bench also took note of the second report, according to which several residents of Greater Noida (Sector Delta 1) allegedly fell ill with symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming sewage-contaminated drinking water.

The same report also alleged detection of E coli bacteria in drinking water in parts of Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, caused by sewage leakage into tube-wells, it noted.

“The issues raised involve serious environmental and public health concerns and prima facie indicate violations of the Environment (Protection) Act and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,” the tribunal said.

It sought a response from the CPCB, states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, including their respective pollution control boards and regional offices of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). PTI MNR MNR RT RT RT