CUTTACK : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the state government to supply safe potable drinking water in the different regions where the joint inspection committee had detected contamination of ground water due to chromium pollution.
The NGT’s East Zone Bench in Kolkata has also directed the Central Ground Water Board to carry out further investigation into the contamination of ground water in Sukinda valley in Jajpur district and submit an affidavit within four weeks.
The joint inspection committee was constituted on a complaint letter submitted by Mantu Das, a resident of Jajpur Sadar. Advocate Sankar Prasad Pani appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
The bench of B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) issued the directions after taking on record the affidavit filed member secretary State Pollution Control Board Dr Kailasam Murugesan along with the report of the committee on July 4.
Taking note of the report, the bench said there was clear finding of the chromium contamination at nine sampling points. The report also recommended further investigation by competent agency to determine the extent of contamination of ground water in Sukinda valley and surrounding areas.
“We wonder whether the Central Ground Water Board, which was a member of the joint committee, does not consider itself a competent agency to investigate,” the bench observed.
“In the face of the specific findings of the joint inspection committee, we are of the view that the responsibility falls upon the state government to provide potable drinking water to the residents,” it also said.