Concretisation from footpaths in Noida, Greater Noida must be removed: CPCB to NGT

NOIDA: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) while giving a response in the National Green Tribunal in an ongoing case related to “concretisation along roads of Noida and Greater Noida” has declared the activity as a threat to the environment and that the same must be removed from the road sides and road berms of the twin cities.

The CPCB, which submitted its response before the NGT on April 24, 2024, also said that activities such as tree plantation, planting of grass, along the roads of the twin cities of Gautam Budh Nagar must be undertaken.

A case in this regard is ongoing in the NGT since May 2022. The petitioner, Vikrant Tongad, had alleged that concretisation activities of pavements along the roads were rampant, causing environmental issues in Gautam Budh Nagar.

He alleged “reckless, excessive and indiscriminate concretisation of road sides and road-berms being carried out in violation of NGT orders, government orders and relevant guidelines by Noida Authority in Sector 28, 37, 47, 50, 55, and 62 in Noida and by Greater Noida Authority in Sector Omega1, Alpha, P3, of Greater Noida”.

“The case is being heard in the NGT for long and we have been demanding that rampant concretisation in Noida and Greater Noida be stopped while it is removed wherever it has come up,” Tongad stated in his petition.

The pavements and road sides, in the absence of rainwater harvesting mechanism, serves as the only medium of natural groundwater recharge but the activities of concretization are acting as an obstacle, it added.

In November 2023, the tribunal had directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC) and CPCB to file a response with reference to the environmental aspects raised by the petitioner.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and local authorities had entered response in the case in February 2024, and sought time for filing their response/additional response.

Hearing the petition on April 25, 2024, an NGT bench comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member, Afroz Ahmad said, “Reply has been filed by CPCB and it has sought issuance of directions to remove concretisation of the road sides and road berms and around trees and to plant grasses and other vegetation on the road side and road berms in Noida and Greater Noida”.

Advocate Akash Vashishtha, representing the petitioner in the case said, “CPCB has admitted that the rampant concretisation of road sides was posing a risk to the environment. It has recommended that road sides and road berms be made green in order to promote water infiltration and for containing dust, etc.”

Talking to HT, Deo K Gupta, regional officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (Greater Noida), said: “There is no activity of concretisation in Greater Noida beyond permissible limits. However, we will abide by the NGT orders and guidelines wherever the violation is found.”

The NGT bench further stated, “The authorities and MoEF & CC have sought time for filing additional replies/responses. Additional replies/responses by respondents be filed within one month.”

The case will now be heard on August 7, 2024.