Plastic Banned Along Ganga From Gomukh To Haridwar

New Delhi: Plastic, in bags and other forms, will be banned on a 140 km stretch along the river starting February 1, the National Green Tribunal has ruled, in hope of bringing down alarming levels of pollution in its water.

The ban will apply to the stretch between Gomukh, where the Ganga originates, to Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

In its ruling into a petition, the green panel also said that hotels, dormitories and guest houses will have to set up their own sewage treatment plants and cannot dump waste into the river.

Those violating this rule will be fined Rs 5,000 per day. The same rule will also apply to hospitals but they will be fined Rs 20,000 for each violation.

"Sewage treatment plants that have become defunct will have to be revived. They have been given three months. Also, additional plants will have to be set up along this entire stretch," Rahul Choudhary, a lawyer for the petitioner said.

Industries that do not get pollution clearances from the state pollution control board will have to shut down, including four seriously polluting industries located at Sitarganj, which have already defaulted on their clearances, the Tribunal has said.

For now, no beach camps will be allowed on this stretch of the Ganga, which is a popular rafting destination, the panel ruled.

Additional Advocate General for Uttarakhand Government, Rahul Verma clarified that though camps will not be allowed, there is no ban on rafting.

The Uttarakhand government will have to set up a committee that will have three weeks to come up with a comprehensive plan on fixing locations where these camps would be allowed in the future.