-By Prabhat Kumar Tyagi
National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government, Maha Kumbh Mela Authorities and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UP PCB) as they lacked sanitary facilities, forcing it to defecate on the Ganga River bank open.
Bench consisting of Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr. A. SEnthil Vel constituted a panel to monitor the case. Bench directed the authorities to take appropriate action and requested them to submit their responses before next hearing date, i.e February 24.
Petitioner Nipun Bhushan had asked Uttar Pradesh governments to grant environmental compensation of Rs. 10 crore for not being able to stop pollution by not setting up sanitary facilities at Kumbh Mela.
Bhushan premised his petition on the “polluter pays” principle, a central doctrine of environmental law, that the state’s failure has led to extensive environmental damage. The plea underlined government’s failure to supply basic ammenties and to fulfill their basic responsibility under Article 48A which guarantees constitutional environmental protection.
Even though bio-toilets are available, inadequate sanitation facilities have made them useless for handling the huge number of pilgrims. According to reports, the current 1.5 lakh functional bio-toilets prove inadequate to handle the humongous number of visitors. Tourist camera images in the petition indicate garbage piling up along the riverbank indicating serious health and environment hazards.
An environment test carried out in November 2024, indicated found fecal coliform levels in the Sangam area to be as high as 3,300 MPN per 100 milliliters—far exceeding the acceptable limit prescribed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Other locations reported levels as high as 2,500 MPN/100 ml, again well beyond acceptable limits.
These results are seriously raising health and environmental issues in minds of individuals as individuals bath in Holy River can be exposed to cholera, hepatitits A and other skin conditions because of water contamination. Furthermore, Central Pollution Board also briefed NGT about the risks involved in bathing in Holy River The Central Pollution Control Board informed the National Green Tribunal about the consumption of Ganga river water for baths due to high fecal coliform levels.
Petitioner also urges UP PCB to furnish latest water quality information since the prevailing records are old and not sufficient in evaluating the prevailing scenario.
