The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has initiated a response from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, NTPC, and others following a petition highlighting water scarcity concerns in the Yamuna and the Ganga rivers in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
The petition presented to the green panel emphasized that this water scarcity could pose challenges for organizing future Kumbh Mela and Magh Mela events in Prayagraj over the next two decades. Allegedly, the scarcity is a result of water withdrawal by various entities, including the Kishanpur canal and two thermal plants.
In an order passed on Monday, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava addressed the substantial environmental law compliance issues raised in the petition. The bench, consisting of Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member A Senthil Vel, has impleaded several authorities as respondents in the matter.
The respondents include the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change secretary; Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board member secretary; Prayagraj district magistrate; Prayagraj divisional commissioner; Bara Thermal Power Plant operations in-charge; and the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Prayagraj operations in-charge, among others.
The NGT has issued a notice to the respondents, requiring them to file their responses within eight weeks. The matter is scheduled for further proceedings on February 7, 2023.
