NGT forms committee to tackle pollution in Dal Lake, regulate houseboats

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a joint committee to tackle pollution in Srinagar's Dal Lake..A Coram of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel has also directed the committee to prepare environmental management guidelines for houseboats.."The Committee will ascertain the sources of pollution in Dal Lake and will find out the persons/ entities responsible for the same and will take appropriate remedial and punitive action. The Committee will also prepare environmental management guidelines for houseboats," the order dated August 21 stated..The Tribunal was hearing a suo motu matter regarding the deteriorating condition of Dal Lake caused by the discharge of municipal sewage and other pollutants from various sources.The proceedings were initiated based on a news article in The Wire titled "The Drowning Jewel - Tapestry of Dal Lake’s Decline and the Fishing Community’s Struggle in Kashmir".On May 8, the NGT issued notices to the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (J&KPCC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).The response from the Member Secretary of the J&KPCC revealed the unabated flow of untreated domestic water into channels and the violation of environmental norms, as indicated in a sample analysis report which showed a high concentration of BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand), total coliform, and fecal coliform.It further disclosed that untreated sewage flows into Dal Lake from areas like Telbal and Lalbazar. Additionally, there are about 910 houseboats in Dal and Nigeen Lake, and their wastewater often gets discharged into Dal Lake without any treatment..The NGT determined that expeditious remedial action is required to ensure that pollutants including untreated sewage do not enter the Dal Lake. Hence, it constituted a Joint Committee comprising the following members:(i) Member Secretary, J&K PCC, (ii) Vice-Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority, Srinagar;(iii) Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar; (iv) Regional office, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Chandigarh; (v) District Magistrate, Srinagar; (vi) Senior Officer of CPCB nominated by Member Secretary, CPCB..The matter will be heard further on December 2, 2024..The CPCB was represented by advocate Vikrant N Goyal..[Read Order]