The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued bailable arrest warrants against State’s Principal Secretary of forest & environment department, the Minister of Forest & Environment and Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for not appearing before it in a case related to environmental threat to the Shree Jagannath Temple at in Puri.
Kolkata-based green activist Subash Dutta, who filed the petition in the tribunal, apprised the judicial body that Mahaprasad is being cooked in the temple premises every day using firewood. The smoke emanating from the firewood is posing considerable threat to the 12th-century shrine, which is considered as a national heritage, the petitioner said.
Similarly, he also drew the attention of the tribunal regarding the open funeral pyres at the funeral ground Swargadwar at Puri. Dutta stated that smoke of the funeral pyres is causing environment pollution in the tourist and pilgrim town.
The NGT first took up the petition for hearing on May 1 and made the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a party as it is responsible for the maintenance of the temple.
The Central and State Pollution Control Boards were also directed to make their views on the issue. On May 22, the tribunal served notice to the Forest and Environment Minister and Secretary and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) DG to appear on Monday (July 22). But all of them did not turn up, for which the NGT expressed displeasure.