The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) in collaboration with the transport department will launch a drive from the next month to keep a strict vigil on commercial and private vehicles

BHUBANESWAR: Rivers of Odisha are far more polluted than what is projected by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB), pointed out experts at a seminar here on Wednesday.

Owners reaping profit at the expense of environment

The district administration has come under severe criticism yet again for the inordinate delay in sealing large number of dyeing units caught for illegal operations. Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board sources told The Hindu that over 30 dyeing units, which were caught over the last six months, were yet to be sealed though the Board had given directives to the District Collector many months back.

Villagers’ protest against shifting of Anakapalle municipality’s garbage dumping yard took a serious turn on Wednesday afternoon when 20 villagers and others supporting them were taken into custody at Achayyapeta under Sundarayyapeta Panchayat, a few kilometres from Anakapalle.

Even as the police took the men into custody, women of the village continued their dharna and the municipality’s tractor was not allowed to proceed. The villagers intensified their protest from Tuesday when they gheraoed Municipal Commissioner S. Muralidhara Rao and stopped the municipal vehicles from entering the area marked for the dumping yard. The protest continued on Wednesday and the police took away 20 villagers.

The state government on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that only 12 municipal corporations in the state have proper landfill sites for solid waste management (SWM).

On the other hand, 14 civic corporations, including Mumbai, do not have secured landfill sites. The five municipal corporations that have landfill sites approved by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) are Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur.

The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Friday ordered notices to the State government and other authorities to file replies on a residents’ welfare association’s application for closure of

National Green Tribunal Hauls Up Industries For Not Having Proper Pollution Control Systems

Noida: A six-member expert committee constituted by National Green Tribunal to determine ‘sources’ and ‘extent’ of pollution in Noida has taken cognizance of diesel generators operating in large numbers, due to lack of adequate power, for causing sound and air pollution. The committee, in its report submitted to the tribunal on Tuesday, has also held inoperative traffic signals and lack of traffic management responsible for causing vehicular jams which lead to air pollution.

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to submit, within a week, a report on the stone crushing units functioning in the State.

During the hearing of a batch of petitions by stone crusher operators, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Nagarathna directed the KSPCB to furnish details of the stone crushing units operating with the certificate of consent for operation as required under Karnataka Stone Crushers Act.

The Bangalore-headquartered Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited has stated that it does not let out water from its plant premises on the Bangalore City outskirts and wondered how the company was being made a party to “the pollution of the Byramangala Lake and the rivers flowing into it.”

The company was responding to a news report in Deccan Herald’s January 6, 2013, edition, captioned “Industry, KSPCB pulled up over pollution of rivers.” The report in question was based on the proceedings of a Lok Adalat sitting on January 22, 2013.

Sets up a three-member panel to monitor execution of the order

The National Green Tribunal has through a recent order banned construction of roads and cutting of trees in the Aravallis directing the parties concerned to restore the area to its original condition. The Tribunal also set up a three-member committee to monitor the execution of the order. The order came on Badshahpur resident Devendra Kumar’s plea on violation of provisions of the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on May 7, 1992 that prohibited certain activities in the Aravalli Hills in Gurgaon.