NGT: Better river flow mgmt required to prevent fish kills
(NGT) has stated that preventing future fish kills requires better management of river flow, strict industrial waste regulation and control of any kind of pollution from industrial sources.
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Disposing of a batch of petitions, including three suo motu cases filed by the principal bench and the southern bench on the mass fish kill that occurred downstream of the Periyar River on May 21-22, 2024, it directed the Kerala state pollution control board (KSPCB) to submit all the detailed reports filed before the bench to the Kerala High Court.
"Since the High Court of Kerala is already seized of the matter, which addresses the same issues involved in the Original Applications (OA) pending before us, it would be appropriate to leave it to the decision of the HC to pass appropriate orders," the bench said.
The PCB, in its report to the NGT, stated that a HC-appointed committee of officials, comprising (i) the secretary, Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, (ii) the regional director, Central Pollution Control Board, Bangalore, and (iii) the chairman, PCB, along with the amicus curiae, visited all the affected places and the petitioners and submitted a report.
The committee's report before the NGT recommended curbing the Periyar pollution in two folds.
One set of recommendations was directed to the departments concerned, namely the industries department, irrigation department and PCB. Remediation of Kuzhikandam Thodu has to be initiated as per the detailed project report (DPR) prepared and recommended for administrative sanction, the bench said.
The NGT noted that the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos), which is a party respondent in all the above petitions, constituted an expert committee to prepare a report on the fish kill incident in the Periyar River and downstream of Pathalam regulator bridge.
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The expert committee also provided a report with recommendations, including an AI-assisted system for displaying and alerting stakeholders downstream before opening the shutters.
These are also to be submitted before the HC along with all the other reports filed in the case.
The tribunal stated that since the HC is already seized of the matter and further orders are awaited, based on the recommendations given by the committee to the industries situated in the Eloor–Edayar Industrial area and the various departments, the bench was disposing of the petitions.
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