New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed its displeasure with the Joint Committee headed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for failing to submit a report on the alleged pollution and industrial encroachment in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
The Prinicipal Bench of the NGT in its order passed on October 4 has directed the Joint Committee to submit the report within one month.
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The tribunal has warned that if the report is not submitted within the stipulated time, all members of the joint committee will be summoned to appear before it.
The NGT’s order came in response to a complaint filed by Utpal Saikia and others, alleging that industrial activities, including the establishment of brick kilns and cement factories, were posing a serious threat to the biodiversity of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
The complainants highlighted the presence of over 100 one-horned rhinos, 300 Indian buffaloes, leopards, deers, pangolins, and wild boars in the sanctuary, making it a vital ecological hotspot.
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The NGT had earlier constituted a joint committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Assam State Pollution Control Board, CPCB, and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, Assam.
The CPCB was designated as the nodal agency for coordinating and ensuring compliance with the committee’s directives.
However, the tribunal expressed its disappointment with the CPCB’s failure to submit the required report.
In its order, the NGT noted that despite constituting a Joint Committee to investigate the matter and directing the CPCB to act as the nodal agency, no report had been submitted.
The Tribunal has now ordered the Joint Committee to submit its report within one month, failing which all its members will be required to appear before the NGT.
The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a significant population of one-horned rhinoceroses and other endangered species.
The next hearing for the case is scheduled for November 5, 2024.