On Friday, the High Court of Delhi issued notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF), Ministry of Coal, Govts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) & others on a plea alleging fly ash disposal causing air, water & soil contamination due to use of red bricks in the construction projects by public & private parties instead of using fly ash bricks, in violation of the past judgements & notifications in this regard, starting from 1999.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel & Justice Jyoti Singh asked Environment Ministry & others to file a reply on the petition & listed the matter for August 27.
The Public Intrest Litigation filed by Vimlendu Jha through Advocates Avishkar Singhvi & Nipun Katyal seeking enforcement of prevailing law on the subject & passing of other necessary orders to give effect to the environmental objectives envisaged by courts & Govt bodies under the present existing regime.
The plea sought direction from the respondents to ensure the mandate of law in the country pertaining to Fly-Ash bricks is followed in letter & spirit. The Petitioner has also been raising the issue of dumping of fly ash in the floodplains of the river Yamuna since the year 2000 having advocated its safe disposal & recycling.
The petitioner further added that he is concerned about the issue related to fly ash disposal for the greater public good & for the health & well-being of society & has decided to approach this court after representing the issues arising herein, please said.
The legal mandate casts specific obligations on government agencies, private brick manufacturers & thermal power plants to work in an aligned & cooperative manner in order to achieve the avowed twin objective of safe disposal of fly ash together with & conservation of the top soil of earth (used to make red bricks), please said.
The legal mandate started in the year 1999 by an order of Delhi HC & was codified in the form of several notifications issued by the MoEF starting in 14.09.1999 through 2003, 2009 & finally 2016. There is a draft notification of 2019 currently pending consideration which further strengthens such mandate.
The Petition is seeking adherence to this benevolent legal mandate & therefore seeking directions against specific tenders & Govt authorities to enforce the object of the Environment Protection Act.
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