NGT orders action against industries polluting Ganga, Yamuna

In a stern reminder that India’s sacred rivers cannot remain dumping grounds for industrial apathy, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state regulators across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar to act swiftly against more than 1,700 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) accused of discharging untreated effluents into vital lifelines such as the Ganga and the Yamuna.

A Bench led by justice Prakash Shrivastava, with expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad, passed the order while hearing a plea by Md Imran Ahmad, who appeared in person to expose what he called a “persistent and systemic failure” in curbing unchecked industrial pollution.

Ahmad’s petition painted a grim picture: hundreds of industries continue to flout CPCB’s directives to install Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) — real-time surveillance tools designed to track the chemical and biological health of effluent discharge.

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Relying on an RTI reply from the CPCB issued in July last year, the applicant pointed out that all GPIs releasing more than 10 kilolitres per day (KLD) of wastewater are mandated to install OCEMS for key parameters such as pH, BOD, COD, TSS, and flow, while smaller units must at least install flow meters and web cameras at discharge outlets.

The plea noted that despite CPCB circulars flagging 704 non-compliant units in Uttar Pradesh, 812 in Haryana, 21 in Bihar, and 149 in Delhi, the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had taken “inadequate or token” action, allowing pollution to persist in the very rivers meant to sustain life.

Ahmad further submitted that he had raised the alarm directly with the CPCB Chairperson on March 8, 2025, seeking urgent enforcement — but his plea, he said, was met with silence.

Taking note of the “large number of defaulting industries” and the continuing flow of toxic effluents into critical water bodies, the tribunal observed that the matter required “urgent and coordinated regulatory intervention.”

“We are of the view that CPCB and concerned PCBs/PCCs must take prompt action to ensure that all Grossly Polluting Industries install OCEMS without delay,” the Bench said in its order.

The NGT directed the CPCB chairperson to examine the petitioner’s representation and issue binding instructions to the pollution control boards of UP, Haryana, Bihar, and Delhi, ensuring the immediate installation of monitoring systems and strict oversight of compliance.

The tribunal further instructed the member secretaries of each state board and the Delhi PCC to submit compliance reports to the CPCB within two months, after which the CPCB must take remedial and punitive action against defaulting units.

The CPCB has also been tasked with preparing a consolidated compliance report for submission to the registrar general of the NGT, which may relist the matter based on the findings.

As the tribunal’s order resonates through the country’s regulatory corridors, it carries a larger message — that India’s rivers, long burdened by neglect and greed, cannot be left to cleanse themselves any longer.

With IANS inputs