Order of the National Green Tribunal on Adi Ganga, Kolkata, West Bengal, 23/11/2022
Pollution abatement of Adi Ganga also called Tolly's Nullah requires implementation and completion of several projects, noted the National Green Tribunal, Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata.
The court directed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board to ensure implementation of the recommendations given in the committee report by the various authorities and a report to be submitted before January 9, 2023.
The report filed on behalf of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, November 21, 2022 said that several projects need to be completed by the Metro Rail Authority, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, HIDCO, Kolkata Police and Rajpur Sonarpur Municipality.
The committee recommendations included among others the following:
- National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) should approve the revised proposal of Tolly Nullah rejuvenation
- Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Rajpur Sonarpur Municipality should put up net above man-height on all the bridges across the Adi Ganga to stop disposal of garbage or plastics into the river
- Kolkata police should take action to remove all khatals (cowsheds) and piggeries from the banks of Adi Ganga at the earliest. The police should take measures to ensure that no encroachment takes place on the banks of Adi Ganga.
A reportage in Down To Earth (DTE), April 19, 2022 said that Adi Ganga, the original channel of Ganga river flowing through Kolkata, has long been converted into a drain by default. Now, an agency of the West Bengal government is planning to turn part of the tidal river into a ‘drain’ by design, stated a Down to Earth (DTE) report, April 19, 2022.