Following is the chronology of events leading to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) passing a slew of directions to rejuvenate River Ganga, declaring as ‘No-Development Zone‘ an area of 100 metres from the edge of the river between Haridwar in Uttarakhand to Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. The Green court also ruled that no dumping of any kind of waste would be permissible within 500 metres of the Ganga. Authorities have been instructed to impose a hefty penalty of Rs. 50,000 on anyone found guilty of disposing waste.
Green Ganga Chronology
1. October 2014: Supreme Court transfers the Ganga cleaning case with regards to industrial pollution to NGT.
2. May 2015: Centre approves an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for Clean Ganga project.
3. December 11, 2015: NGT imposes complete ban on use of plastic of any kind from Gomukh to Haridwar along Ganga from February 1, 2016.
4. January 1, 2016: NGT asks UP to apprise public about proceedings as it may order shifting of polluting industrial units located on the banks of Ganga.
Read: National Green Tribunal Directs UP Authorities To Give Details Of Industry Clusters Near Ganga
5. January 4, 2016: NGT directs the Centre and Uttar Pradesh government to take a clear stand on a mechanism to clean the river from Haridwar to Kanpur.
6. January 12, 2016: NGT asks the Centre not to release funds without its approval due to the lackadaisical approach of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand officials in enumerating reasons for pollution in Ganga.
Read: Namami Gange Projects Worth Rs. 250 Crore Launched In Uttrakhand
7. January 15, 2016: NGT asks UP and Uttarakhand governments to identify seriously polluting industries located on the banks of Ganga.
8. February 10, 2016: NGT appoints a committee to look into grossly polluting industries located along the banks of Ganga.
9. March 21, 2016: NGT seeks complete data on sewage discharged in Ganga.
Read: Authorities Clueless On How Many Drains Carry Sewage Into Ganga: NGT
10. April 5, 2016: 1070 polluting units discharge effluents in Ganga in UP, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) tells NGT.
11. July 26, 2016: NGT seeks expenditure details of Rs. 20,000 crore from National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
Read: Centre Okays Rs. 20,000-Crore Budget for Namami Ganga Scheme
12. September 15, 2016: Ganga water has heavy metal, pesticide traces, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) tells NGT.
13. September 30, 2016: Almost 10 million litres of untreated waste water is being directly pumped into Ganga every day only in Mirzapur from five big drains, NGT informed.
14. October 18, 2016: NGT bars UP government from spending on projects along Ganga.
15. October 19, 2016: NGT forms panel to check sewage joining Ganga through drains.
16. November 21, 2016: NGT flays UP government over tanneries, says can’t behave like king.
Read: Government Seeks Corporate Assistance To Clean Ganga
17. December 1, 2016: Consortium of seven IITs tells NGT that multiplicity of authorities, lack of assistance from state governments and dearth of monitoring has led to the failure of cleaning Ganga.
18. December 5, 2016: UP government headed by Akhilesh Yadav tells NGT that it was impossible to shift tanneries from Kanpur.
Read: Update Report On The Status Of Ganga Clean-up: SC To Centre
19. January 24, 2017: Supreme Court transfers Public-Interest Litigation (PIL) on cleaning of river Ganga, pending for over a decade, to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is hearing the matter since 2014.
20. February 6, 2017: Public money wasted, not a drop of Ganga cleaned, says NGT.
21. April, 2017: Yogi Adityanath government favours shifting of Kanpur tanneries, tells NGT that all the sources which pollute Ganga should be treated on the basis of definite data.
22. April 26, 2017: NGT orders closure of 13 industries violating pollution norms.
23. May 31, 2017: NGT reserves verdict on Phase-II of river Ganga.
24. July 13, 2017: NGT raps authorities for spending over Rs 7,000 crore in two years to clean the Ganga as it bans all construction activity within 100 metres of the river edge.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
