HYDERABAD: The report of the joint committee that conducted a hygiene survey of Musi river was presented by the CPCB to the NGT on Friday, along with the report on action taken by the Central and State pollution control boards of different states on improving the quality of water in the polluted river stretches identified across the country. The hearing was on four different cases relating to pollution of rivers, including that of the Musi.
According to the advocates present at the hearing, the NGT came down heavily on the legal counsellors representing State and Central government agencies, demanding a reply as to why waste water from pharmaceutical industries is being allowed to flow into the river and what action has been taken so far against the violators.
It pointed out that the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act came into effect as early as in 1974, and as nothing serious was being done to curb the pollution, there was only one way left - to cut the salaries of those employed with the pollution control boards and let it reflect in their service registers.
In the hearing, the issue of encroachment of lands along the Musi was also brought up and a demand was placed for the creation of a Musri river basin development authority.
NGT demands answer on river pollution
The NGT came down heavily on legal counsellors representing State and Central government agencies, demanding to know why waste water from pharmaceutical industries is being allowed to flow into the rivers