Aafrin Kidwai 
The confluence of the Alaknanda (background) and Mandakini (foreground) rivers in the outer Himalayas at Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, India; By User:Fowler&fowler, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19578069
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Uttarakhand chief secretary to investigate a complaint claiming untreated waste dumping into the Ganga in Rishikesh and take appropriate measures for the state’s sewage treatment plants.
The petitioner claimed that agents of the municipal corporation were bathing and washing vehicles using a tap erected outside a toilet complex on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, according to a bench chaired by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.
“We direct the Uttarakhand chief secretary to investigate the case and take appropriate legal action,” the bench stated.
The NGT had earlier said that there has to be an awareness programme as well as a monitoring cell created at each municipal level to ensure that no untreated waste is discharged into the river.
“All the Ganga bank towns and villages need to follow septage protocols as well as norms applicable to the flood protection zones. Evacuation from septic tanks must be linked to the pre-identified STPs,” it had said, according to The Indian Express.
