NGT's Kaziranga directive ineffective?

It’s almost a year since the National Green Tribunal passed a directive asking the Assam government to ensure that all the stone crushers and brick kilns, which are located within the No Development Zone (NDZ) in the Kaziranga National Park be removed. However, the directive has gone on deaf ears despite protests from different civil society organisations.

The National Green Tribunal, which was moved by environment activist Rohit Choudhury, via application number 38/2011, in its judgement on September 7, 2012 had issued directives to remove all the stone crushers and brick kilns established within the NDZ in the park in contravention of the 1996 Notification, via which NDZ was declared in Kaziranga.

Presently there are eleven stone crushers and thirty four brick kilns within the NDZ in the national park, and despite the stern judgement by the NGT, all these units are openly flourishing within the NDZ of the national park.

In its judgement, the NGT had however also mentioned that one stone crusher, M/s Assam Stone Crusher, and one brick kiln were set up before the 1996 notification, and directed the government to relocate those to somewhere outside the NDZ, and besides this had also asked the government to take appropriate steps not to allow operation of the twenty three stone crusher units existing in the vicinity of NDZ (outside the NDZ) till necessary pollution control equipments and other measures are installed to eradicate the pollution, to the satisfaction of Assam Pollution Control Board and Central Pollution Control Board.

In its judgement, the NGT had however strictly directed the concerned state government authorities—to immediately remove the stone crushers and the brick kilns within the NDZ in the park.

Till date, the judgement by the NGT and several round of protests by different civil society organisations has however failed to move the heels of the officials of the concerned departments. The pollution control board officials when approached acknowledged that the stone crushers and brick kilns have not yet been removed, despite the board issuing notice to all these industries last year after the NGT judgement. “We had issued closure notice last year, but the owners have failed to act,” said JK Nath, an official of the Pollution Control Board, Assam.

Though some departments of the Assam government made some scanty efforts to close the operations of the industrial units, nothing much has happened till date. The electrical connections to a few of the units has been disconnected, but it has failed to stop the operations of these units as they use generator sets for the operations wherever required. A pollution control board official expressed helplessness, and said that it is not possible for the board to go around closing the industry units.

“We had issued closure notice immediately after the judgement by the NGT. However, we have shortage in terms of man-power, and it is not possible for us to go and close or dismantle the industry units, as firstly we don’t have much manpower, and secondly it is not our job at all,” said Nath.

Nath, however, added that during their visit to these industry units, they have often seen the machines running. But the workers at the industry say that they sometimes run the machine to ensure all the parts of the machines are working. “We have made many rounds of visits to several of these industrial units. When we ask them about dismantling the unit, they say it will be done soon. But they have failed to put their words into action.

Similarly on several occasions we have caught them red-handed with the machines running, but then they say that they sometimes run the machines for about an hour or so to keep the machines in working condition so that the units can be dismantled and shifted to some other area,” said Nath.

The forest department and the KNP authorities when approached also showed equal callousness over the issue, and said officials are working on the issue. “I have been informed that several illegal industrial units exist within the NDZ, despite a verdict by the NGT. I have asked officials of the park to look into the matter and keep me posted on the developments,” said NK Vasu, Director, Kaziranga National Park.

Civil society groups, spearheading the protests against these industrial units within the NDZ in the park pointed out that protests demanding closure of these units were on even before the NGT verdict last year, but added that none of their efforts could move the park authorities to take steps to shut down these units.

“In its verdict the NGT had clearly mentioned that these industries are highly polluting and are a major threat to the Kaziranga National Park, and it is important to shut them immediately. It was a major boost for us and we thought the industrial units will close down soon, but it has not happened till date,” saidSanjib Dutta, an activist of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad.

“We had staged so many protests demanding the closure of these industrial units, and on several occasions had also taken up the issue not only with the park authorities and administration, but also the forest and wildlife department but no action in this regard was ever taken,” added Sanjib Dutta.