CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered fresh inspection of a fish meal and scrap fish processing unit at Tundura under Remuna block in Balasore district.
The NGT’s East Zone Bench in Kolkata issued the direction after declining the inspection report submitted along with an affidavit by Balasore collector Suryawanshi Mayur Vikas, on May 22.
On April 17, the NGT had constituted a joint committee to visit the fish processing unit which was allegedly releasing untreated water into the sea through the Kantachira river after washing huge quantities of rotten scrap fish. Bipin Bihari Das, a resident of nearby locality, made the allegations in a petition while advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy represented him.
The bench comprising Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member) and Dr Arun Kumar Verma observed, “We have gone through the report and find that inspection was carried out by joint committee when the unit was not functional. Therefore, the facts stated in the petition obviously could not have been verified.”
The bench directed a fresh inspection when the unit is operational and a new report be submitted within six weeks and scheduled the next hearing to August 5. According to the petition, the fish processing unit is operating since 2023 on the banks of a natural creek known locally as Kantachira river, which connects the Bay of Bengal.
The factory has been allegedly releasing the untreated water into the sea through the river after washing huge quantities of rotten scrap fish. Rain water is drained out of around 20 to 25 gram panchayats into the sea through the river along with water from the Sua Shari hills in Soro to Swarnachuda hills in Nilagiri. This is a catchment area encompassing densely populated Barunasing, Maharajpur, Kuligan, Srijung, Tundra, Inchudi and Rasalpur gram panchayats, the petition said.