The National Green Tribunal propelled ban on polythene and plastics in Haridwar and Rishikesh is turning into warfare between the district administration officials and the local commissioner Shariq Abbas Zaidi, with the former dubbing the report submitted by lC to NGT as false and the latter sticking to his guns. ADM (Admin) JS Nangyal and SP City Surjit Singh Panwar, nodal officers of the Haridwar district administration along with Uttarakhand advocate general UK Uniyal were present during the NGT hearing on the implementation of the ban.
Zaidi informed The Pioneer over phone that advocate general had dubbed his report as concocted while presenting the district administration’s case before the NGT judge. However, the judge had asked him to bring papers and reports instead of indulging in personal insinuation. The next hearing would be held on September 2, Zaidi said.
Notably, (NGT) had passed its order on July 2 on the basis of the report of its local commissioner who had filed it after inspecting various sites in Haridwar and Rishikesh accompanied by officers of Pollution Control Board, Haridwar Nagar Nigam and police department last month. As per the report, things were bleak along the river bank and flood plain of Ganga with plastic waste and other municipal waste being thrown directly into the river. A drain which had been constructed to carry the sewage to STP was completely blocked and choked by plastic and other waste, the report said.