NGT directs municipal commissioner to enforce waste disposal guidelines

Kanpur: National Green Tribunal (NGT) judge and member, Afroz Ahmad, on Saturday, directed the municipal vommissioner of Kanpur Nagar to ensure the proper disposal of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, contaminated waste, and legacy waste.
During a review meeting of the environment committee held at the New Auditorium Sarsaiya, Ahmad emphasized the importance of proper management of garbage generated from Municipal Corporations in urban areas and Nagar Panchayats in rural areas.
He instructed the monitoring of e-waste recyclers and urged industries generating e-waste to make arrangements for its disposal.
Furthermore, Ahmad directed the medical department to ensure the proper monitoring and disposal of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), and biomedical waste.
The project manager of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam was instructed to operate all STPs for sewage management at full capacity and in accordance with the rules. Jal Nigam officials were also asked to submit the Detailed Project Report (DPR) soon for tapping the remaining untapped drains of the city.
The Pollution Control Board was tasked with ensuring the collection and testing of underground water samples from the Jajmau area at the laboratory located in Lucknow. NGT member Afroz Ahmad asked the forest department to promote the planting of trees in primary schools and organize awareness programs in colleges and universities to create children's forests. He also emphasized the importance of tree plantation at the Namami Gange 20 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and the 30 MLD Panka Plant.
The district forest office was instructed to install pillars with geo-tagging in the wetland area. During the construction of the Metro, Ahmad directed that rainwater harvesting and drainage systems should be prioritized. The traffic department was urged to take effective action to prevent noise and air pollution in the city.
The meeting was attended by DM Rakesh Kumar Singh, municipal commissioner Sudhir Kumar, Vice Chairman of Kanpur Development Authority (KDA), regional officer of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), environmental engineer, chief medical officer, project managers from UP Jal Nigam (Urban and Rural), and officials from other related departments. The regional pollution control board officer presented a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation during the meeting.