NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to deposit Rs 50 lakh as performance guarantee for its failure to protect the environment.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel expressed dissatisfaction with the cleaning of the Yamuna river and said that the failure of authorities in this regard was affecting the life and health of citizens and threatening the existence of the river.
The performance guarantee has to be deposited within two weeks and the NGT warned that in case of failure it would summon the DDA vice chairman.
The tribunal was perusing a supplementary progress report filed by a monitoring committee comprising retired NGT expert member B S Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra.
The NGT said the efforts of the tribunal and the monitoring committee would be a waste if the authorities failed to take identified steps in a time-bound manner.
“No regulatory authority can remain mute spectator and must play a proactive role in exercising their powers to sternly prevent such pollution. Any failure has to be dealt with strongly,” the bench said.
The tribunal directed all stakeholders in the Yamuna cleaning case to file their responses to the report submitted by the monitoring committee within two weeks. and posted the matter for hearing on August 23.
The DDA’s counsel told the tribunal that the Authority had notified 120 hectares of the Yamuna floodplains downstream of the Delhi Noida Direct Flyway as part of the rejuvenation of the Yamuna.
The Authority was regularly monitoring encroachments on the floodplains and was in the process of installing an electronic surveillance system, he told the bench.
This is not the first time the NGT has expressed dissatisfaction with the cleaning of river Yamuna. It had previously directed the Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments to submit a performance guarantee of `10 crore each within a month.
The green panel had also asked the Haryana Pollution Control Board to conduct a study of water quality and the flow of Yamuna at the point it enters Haryana, and submit the list of industries located in the catchment area.
It had noted that almost 67 per cent of the pollutants that enter the Yamuna would be treated by two sewage treatment plants at Delhi Gate and Najafgarh under the first phase of the Yamuna Revitalisation Project.