The Uttarakhand Control Board (UKPCB) has issued Kedarnath Nagar Panchayat exhibition causes and the Department of Public Works for alleged violations of environmental standards in the famous Temple of the Himalayas.
The notices were issued in accordance with an order issued by the National Green Court (NGT), after a joint team of officials from different departments, including the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), inspected the decrease failures of solid waste, said the UKPCB.
Duration A team visit, it was discovered that the solid waste collected from the containers was segregated and collected in a small well, which was not built technically correct without cement floors. Nor was there an installation for the Leachate collection, said UKPCB member secretary, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, in the notice to the Kedarnath executive officer Nagar Panchayat.
The team also discovered that unrelated wastewater were being entrances into the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers, he said.
The team observed that a 600 KLD wastewater treatment plant (STP) is being built in Kedarnath and currently, the wastewater of Nagar Panchayat and the rest of the income village is managed through soaking wells.
In some places, the bathroom wells were filled and needed regular cleaning, according to the equipment.
The original schedule for the end of the STP work was in December 2024, which has now extended to May 2025, said RTI activist based in Noida, Amit Gupta, whose complaint was the basic of the action.
Interested authorities have been asked to make sure there are no wastewater not treated for rivers.
The notices also say that the capacity of the STP under construction should be improved, considering the growing avalanche of pilgrims to Kedarnath every year at the top of Char Dham Yatra.
The notices say that the Kedarnath Nagar Panchayat EO and the executive engineer of the PWD in Guptkashi will have to withstand the compensation of the environment and face other consequences if they do not meet the instructions.
Char Dham Yatra is scheduled for the beginning of April 30 with the opening of the Gangotri and Yamuntri temples in Uttarkashi.
The Kedarnath temple will open for devotees on May 2.
Posted on April 26, 2025
