The National Green Tribunal has slammed the UP chief secretary for allowing brick kilns to operate in the state despite its prohibition during the coronavirus lockdown.
The NGT said it was surprised how the Chief Secretary could have passed a contrary order in violation of the order of this tribunal which amounts to a criminal offence.
The green panel said that apart from the expert report that operation of brick kilns is in violation of carrying capacity and results in air pollution in violation of law, it also had passed an order on November 15, 2019 against operation of brick kilns.
"Such action is patently violative of rule of law. We warn the Chief Secretary, UP to be careful, failing which we may have to direct prosecution, stoppage of salary and other coercive measures for violation of the order of this Tribunal," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said in its order passed on Thursday.
It asked the Chief Secretary to ensure strict compliance of its orders and said," order of the Chief Secretary being in violation of order of this tribunal is declared void."
The order came after Ghaziabad District Magistrate told the bench that in March, due to lockdown situation in the district with respect to COVID-19, inspections at kilns could not be carried out.
He told the tribunal that during the lockdown period, Chief Secretary, issued directions to all the District Magistrates of UP to allow the brick kilns to operate in the State.
"Several brick kilns were closed during the lockdown period as most of the labours went back to their respective areas, but it is submitted that few of the brick kilns were operating during the lockdown period in compliance to the directions passed by Chief Secretary, Govt of UP but brick kilns could not be verified due to the lockdown conditions," he said.
The NGT had earlier directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to conduct a carrying capacity study of brick kilns in NCR and other regions and its impact on ambient air quality.
The tribunal was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by journalist Shailesh Singh and others seeking action against brick kilns which are operating without complying to pollution norms and causing immense air and water pollution.
It alleged that 600 brick kilns are illegally operating in Baghpat district without obtaining necessary clearances from statutory authorities concerned.
The plea, filed through advocate Preeti Singh, listed seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar, Baghpat, Meerut, Hapur and Muzaffarnagar, 13 districts of Haryana, including Gurgaon, and two districts (Alwar and Bharatpur) of Rajasthan, besides Delhi in the petition.
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