NGT fines Kerala govt. for late filing of report on plastic contamination in Ashtamudi Lake

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi has imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 on the Kerala government for late filing of a report on the issue of microplastic pollution in the Ashtamudi Lake.

“No report by the State of Kerala during the working hours of the previous working day of the tribunal was filed. The counsel for Kerala submits that the report has been filed yesterday evening. Since the report has been filed belatedly, it has not come on record. Hence, we impose the cost of ₹10,000 upon the State of Kerala for not filing the response/report on time,” said an order dated September 13, 2024 issued by the Bench comprising Prakash Shrivastava, chairperson, Arun Kumar Tyagi, judicial member, and A. Senthil Vel, expert member.

The penalty was imposed on the basis of an order dated September 4 issued by the Registrar General of the tribunal, which stated that henceforth no pleadings/report/documents in pending cases will be accepted, except through the e-filing module of the NGT.

Pleadings/reports/documents filed through e-mail will not be taken on record, unless otherwise directed. Such reports and documents have to be filed well in advance, in any case, not later than 3 p.m. on the working day prior to the date of hearing, it said.

The Bench, which considered a report dated September 11 submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board on the ecological condition of the Ashtamudi Lake, pointed out that a significant level of microplastic contamination has been found.

The source of the pollution is primarily through sewage wastewater and surface runoff due to inadequate filtration in the treatment system. Four locations in the lake identified as a Ramsar site were not complying for primary water quality criteria for bathing notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 in the year 2023, it said.

In its report, Kerala’s Department of Environment informed the tribunal that it is exploring joint collaboration with higher educational institutions including Mahatma Gandhi University and Cochin University of Science and Technology to carry out research on microplastic contamination at 10 locations in the Ashtamudi Lake as the Kerala State Pollution Control Board lacked the sophisticated testing facilities for micro plastic analysis.

Published - September 27, 2024 06:53 pm IST