Above: NGT/Photo: Anil Shakya

The National Green Tribunal bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi on Monday (January 15) took cognizance of a report submitted by a joint inspection team to look into the complaint of water pollution by a paper manufacturing unit, Century Paper and Pulp industry.

The NGT ordered specific details to be filed.

The application has been filed by Gauri Maulekhi, who has said that water of a river is being affected.

On Monday, the bench studied the report that had come of the order of May 4, 2016 by a joint inspection team. The team submitted its report on August 23, 2016 but the applicant has objected to the report since in the report it has been stated that there is pollution in downstream of the river due to use of heavy metals such as chromium, nickel, manganese and iron.

The company said that they are willing to take environmental remedial action as mentioned in the action plan.

The bench asked the counsel to point out specific points where the respondents are violating and direct the respondents to install shallow hand pumps in the villages of Bindukatta and Shantipuri.

—India Legal Bureau