NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has recently issued a formal notice to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Prayagraj Mela Authority, and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UP PCB) in response to allegations of critical lapses in sanitation infrastructure at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.
These deficiencies have reportedly resulted in widespread open defecation along the banks of the Ganga River, posing significant environmental and public health risks.
A bench consisting of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel has directed the concerned authorities to submit their responses no later than one week before the next scheduled hearing on February 24.
“The application alleges that lakhs of ordinary people and families are forced to defecate in the open on the banks of the river Ganga due to a lack of adequate facilities. In support of the plea taken in the OA, the applicant has enclosed a pen drive containing videos,” the NGT noted. The petition, filed by environmental advocate Nipun Bhushan, seeks Rs 10 crore in environmental compensation from the Government of Uttar Pradesh. It contends that the failure to provide adequate sanitation measures has directly contributed to significant pollution.
The petition invokes the ‘polluter pays’ principle, a fundamental tenet of environmental law that mandates those responsible for environmental degradation bear the cost of remediation.