NGT directs panel to submit report on plea alleging pollution by power plant in Kanpur

The National Green Tribunal Thursday formed a committee and directed it to submit a report on a plea alleging air and water pollution by Panki Thermal Power Plant at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked the committee to submit the report within two months.

“Before proceeding further, we consider it necessary to require a factual report in the matter from a joint committee comprising the Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Central Pollution Control Board, state pollution control board and the District Magistrate, Kanpur (Rural) within two months by e-mail,” the bench said.

The state PCB will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance, it said.

“A copy of this order be sent to the Regional Officer, MoEF, Lucknow, CPCB, State PCB and the District Magistrate, Kanpur (Rural) by e-mail for compliance,” the bench said.

The applicant may furnish a set of papers to them and file an affidavit of service within one week, the bench said.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Kanpur resident Pawan Kumar Tiwari alleging that Panki thermal power plant was causing air and water pollution resulting in damage to public health and the environment.

According to the petition, Panki Thermal Power Plant was set up at Kanpur in 1977 and approval for expansion was granted in 2017.

The matter is listed for next hearing on November 9.