[New Delhi]Green Grandeur Justice Rahim Stays Dumping at Noida-54
A bench headed by Acting Chairperson of NGT Justice Jawad Rahim took strong exception to the dumping of waste at the site and ordered its removal within 10 days.
The order came after advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, appearing for the Noida residents, argued that dumping of solid and medical waste in huge quantity in the middle of a city forest by the Noida Authority had degraded environment and caused severe health hazard to the residents of sectors 22, 23, 53, 55 and 56.
He said that despite the tribunal’s order to dump the waste at Sector 123, the Noida Authority was dumping 600 tonnes of waste daily in Sector 54 in clear violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016.
The counsel for the Noida Authority, however, said that no dumping was taking place at the site and only segregation of garbage was being carried out there.
The tribunal had earlier issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, Uttar Pradesh government, Central Pollution Control Board, UP State Pollution Control Board and the Gautam Budh Nagar District Collector in the matter.
The green body was hearing a plea filed by Resident Welfare Associations of Sectors 22, 23, 53, 55 and 56 seeking directions to immediately stop dumping of solid waste at the site in Sector 54.
The residents also alleged in their petition that the Noida Authority had been illegally felling trees without proper permission under the UP Protection of Trees Act 1976 and it had also permitted running of a gas depot in the city forest, which was a fire hazard.