The eastern zonal bench of the National Green Tribunal has directed various state and central agencies to implement the recommendations made by an expert committee to control pollution in Tolly’s Nullah.
The committee included members of the Central Pollution Control Board, West Bengal Pollution Control Board, the state irrigation department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), among other bodies.
In its order on November 23, the bench asked the West Bengal Pollution Control Board to submit a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations by all agencies involved by January 9, 2023.
Apart from the KMC, the agencies include Metro Railway, Hidco, Kolkata police and Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality.
“The case on Tolly’s Nullah pollution started in 2016 and was disposed of in 2020. When I found that most of the orders were not implemented, I filed a fresh case in May 2022. Subsequently, the committee was formed,” said environmentalist Subhas Datta.
“Kolkata police should take action to remove all khatals and piggeries from the banks of Adi Ganga (Tolly’s Nullah) at the earliest (and)take stringent measures to ensure that no further encroachment takes place on the banks,” the recommendation reads.