Once again the district administration has rolled up its sleeves to implement the orders of the National Green Tribunal across the district to keep Ganga clean. In a review meeting held on Tuesday in the district collectorate, Ddistrict Magistrate Harbans Singh Chugh assigned responsibilities to the nodal officers and divided the entire region swept by Ganga into different segments to keep a check on polythene and plastic pollution, contaminating the river.
The DM has made segments in areas along the Ganga stretch starting from Dudhiya Bandh to Bhimgoda barrage, Bhimgoda barrage to Har Ki Pauri, Har Ki Pauri to Chandi bridge, Chandi bridge to Shyampur Kangri, Shyampur Kangri to Ajitpur, Ajitpur to Bishenpur Kundi, Bishenpur Kundi to Bhogpur, Bhogpur to Raighati, Raighati to Balawali, Balawali to Khanpur.
For the areas under Nagar Nigam, Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Vipra Trivedi has been assigned the task while the city magistrate Jai Bharat Singh and executive engineer irrigation department Dhirendra Kachwaha have been made the nodal officers for the city areas and for Neeldhara region respectively.
For Roorkee region, joint magistrate Magesh Ghildiyal and for Nagar Nigam Roorkee, SDM Gopal Singh Rawat would shoulder the responsibility for the implementation of NGT order, DM stated. He stressed that the Ganga ghats must be made polythene free and NGOs and industrial units might be roped in to achieve the target of polythene free city.
Speaking to The Pioneer, DM said, “We would depute a police man and an NGO in each segment and stringent measures would be taken against the violators of the norms. Apart from this, we appeal to the people to contribute their bit to keep Ganga clean.”
Notably, the NGT order had come in July last on a complaint filed by the environmentalist M C Mehta against pollution of Ganga. He had held Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, district administration and Municipal Corporation squarely responsible for the river's pollution.
The tribunal had ordered that the officials of these civic bodies based in the district would take checking rounds of the flood plains and ghats of Ganga to ensure that no plastic was used for selling commodities while asking them to seek assistance of the police in the matter if required.
“The Municipal Corporation, Pollution Control Board and police shall within one week from today place appropriate sized dustbins near the shops and it would be mandatory for people to throw waste in waste bins only. The waste shall be collected on daily basis and taken at appropriate site and dumped according to MSW Rules, 2000,” the bench said.
The bench made proper disposal of the collected waste at an approved site with regular spray of disinfectant mandatory.