NGT clears decks for Yettinahole drinking water Project in Karnataka
New Delhi, May 24: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Friday cleared the decks for the Yettinahole drinking water project in Karnataka, refusing to set aside the sanction granted by authorities to it.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, however, directed the state forest department and the ministry of environment and forests to monitor the project and if they found that there were any violation, they are at liberty to take appropriate action against the project proponent.
"We feel that neither the appellant nor the original applicant had made out any case against the implementation of the project and set aside the sanction granted by the authorities for this project. So both the appeals as well as the original application lack merits and the same are liable to be dismissed," the bench said.
Besides Justice Goel, Justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan were part of the bench.
The tribunal also said that the document produced by the applicant show that the government as well as the authorities have called for necessary documents wherever they required clarification and only after getting those clarifications and the documents that they have granted the approval.
"The notification relied on by the counsel for the appellant as well as the applicant issued in the year 2015 on the basis of Dr. Kasturirangan Report on Western Ghats also didn't prohibit the project regarding drinking water purpose and only certain categories of activities specified therein alone were prohibited," the tribunal said.
The judgement came on a plea filed by environmentalists K N Somashekar and H A Kishor Kumar alleging that the project work was started by the Karnataka government without getting required permission from various statutory bodies and sought injunction restraining them from proceeding with the work without conducting the scientific study of environment impact on the Western Ghats.
The complainants claimed that Karnataka had proposed to undertake Yettinahole project through Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited in the bio-diversity rich Hassan district in the Western Ghats by diverting water from the west flowing tributaries of River Nethravathi.
The purpose of the project is to provide drinking water to several districts, including Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara and Bangalore Rural.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
