The National Green Tribunal (NGT) came down heavily on the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) for not complying with previous orders of the tribunal, pertaining to taking action against a Noida-based water bottling unit for extracting groundwater.
A Bench headed by NGT acting chairperson Jawad Rahim, rapped the CGWA officers for showing “disdainful conduct and open defiance” to the directions of the NGT.
“This is yet another case where officers of a statutory body have displayed disdainful conduct and open defiance to the directions of this tribunal. We deprecate this practice and direct the CGWA’s chairman to take note of such conduct of officers and take appropriate action against the concerned who would be found responsible for disobedience of the directions,” the Bench said.
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The directions came while the green panel was hearing a plea filed by city resident Shailesh Singh who had alleged that the bottling unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was extracting groundwater by installing borewells within the factory premises.
It also alleged that the unit was extracting the groundwater without the requisite permissions.