Ganga and Yamuna waterways under threat: NGT directs immediate compliance on effluent monitoring
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and state pollution regulators in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar to take “prompt action” against more than 1,700 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) accused of discharging untreated effluents into vital water bodies, including the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
The Bench, headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava along with expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad, was hearing an original application filed by Md Imran Ahmad, who appeared in person. The petition alleged that hundreds of GPIs had failed to comply with CPCB directions to install Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS), a real-time monitoring mechanism for industrial effluent discharge.
The applicant cited a Right to Information response from the CPCB in July last year, which stated that all GPIs discharging more than 10 kilolitres per day (KLD) of effluent must install OCEMS to monitor parameters such as pH, flow, BOD, COD, and TSS. Smaller units are required to install flow meters at their outlets along with a web camera.
The application referred to CPCB communications listing non-compliant industries: 704 in Uttar Pradesh, 812 in Haryana, 21 in Bihar, and 149 in Delhi. It claimed that the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committee (PCC) had taken “inadequate action” despite repeated reminders.
The petitioner also informed the NGT that he had submitted a detailed representation to the CPCB Chairperson on 8 March 2025, seeking immediate enforcement, but “no action has been taken.”
Highlighting the “large number of defaulting industries” and ongoing discharge into critical water bodies, the tribunal stressed the need for urgent regulatory intervention.
“We are of the view that CPCB and concerned PCBs/ PCCs are required to take prompt action to ensure that GPIs, which are required to have OCEMS, do not commit the default and install the same without any delay,” the Bench said.
The tribunal directed the CPCB Chairperson to consider the applicant’s representation and issue necessary directions to the pollution control boards of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, and the Delhi PCC to ensure immediate installation of OCEMS and strict compliance monitoring.
It further ordered the Member Secretaries of the respective state boards and the Delhi PCC to file compliance reports with the CPCB within two months. The CPCB, in turn, has been asked to take “appropriate remedial and punitive action against defaulting units.”
The NGT added that the CPCB must submit a consolidated compliance report to the tribunal’s Registrar General, after which the matter may be relisted if required.
IANS