The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed authorities in Gurgaon to not “concretise” trees and said the process of concretisation was undertaken in a very “unscientific manner”. The NGT issued notice to Haryana government, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). It also asked the Conservator of Forest to file a status report regarding the number of trees in Gurgaon and how many had been concretised. The Tribunal noted that the photographs placed before it show “clearly that concretisation has been done in the most unscientific manner” and that the authorities had not followed “stipulations made in guidelines issued by the Ministry of Urban Development. “In such a view of the matter, there shall be an interim direction against the respondents not to concretise around trees any further, pending disposal of the application,” the bench said. The Tribunal was hearing a plea filed by the NGO Haryali Welfare Society which had sought directions to remove concrete around all trees in Gurgaon. “Mindless concretisation by cementing trees… is leading to drying of trees and their subsequent death,” the plea stated, adding that the act of concretisation is in disregard of guidelines issued in February 2014 by the UD Ministry.
Tribunal seeks govt report on rainwater harvesting in flyovers
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Delhi government and other authorities to inspect 13 flyovers in Delhi and apprise it of the possibility of installing rainwater harvesting systems. The NGT bench directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to inspect flyovers by February 25 and 26 and “submit a report…to the Tribunal positively”. The directions came after Mehrauli resident Vinod Kumar Jain sought directions making it mandatory for all government buildings of 100 sq metres and above to install rainwater harvesting systems. His petition cited a Delhi High Court order in which CGWA had said rainwater harvesting could be implemented easily in Delhi’s flyovers. In the petition, Jain had said according to the estimate given by the DJB, 65,000 liters of rainwater can be retained in a 100-square metre roof. This amount is sufficient to meet the water requirements of a family for 160 days.
Source: Express News Service 24 Feb 2015