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2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 968
NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL NEW DELHI (PRINCIPAL BENCH)
PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, Chairperson, ARUN KUMAR TYAGI, Judicial Member, AFROZ AHMAD, Expert Member
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED IN THE HINDU DATED 27 FEB 2022 TITLED " TOURISM HAS BROUGHT ECONOMIC PROSPERITY TO THE HIMALAYAN REGION BUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COST HAS BEEN CATASTROPHIC" VS
M.A. No. 14/2024 In Original Application No. 178/2022 | Original Application No. 475/2024
For the Respondents: Ms. Sonali Malhotra & Ms. Sakshi Singh, Advs. for MoEF & CC (Through VC)
Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar & Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Advs. for the State of Manipur
Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda & Mr. Mukul Katyal, Advs. for CPCB in OA 475/2024
Mr. Vaibhav Srivastava, Mr. Bhargava Ravikumar & Mr. Puneet Rajta, Advs. for HP SPCB
Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, Adv. for the State of Nagaland, Nagaland SPCB & Meghalaya SPCB
Mr. Raj Kumar, Advocate for LPCC in OA 475/2024
Mr. Arnab Ray, Adv. for Tripura SPCB (Through VC)
Mr. Ghansham Singh, Member Secretary, J&K PCC (Through VC)
Mr. Anando Mukherjee & Mr. Shwetank Singh, Advs. for MPCB (Through VC)
NGT mandates implementation of comprehensive EATIHR recommendations across IHR States/UTs for sustainable tourism, including carrying capacity assessments, waste management, pollution monitoring, and electric vehicles to mitigate environmental degradation from mass tourism.
Headnote:(A) National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 - Suo motu proceedings based on news reports - Environmental protection in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) - Unregulated tourism causing solid waste accumulation, microplastic pollution, air and water quality degradation, biodiversity loss - Tribunal directs G.B. Pant National Institute to study 12 Himalayan States/UTs and MoEF&CC to convene Chief Secretaries' meeting - EATIHR report finds positive correlation between tourist influx and waste generation (r²=0.92 in Ladakh; r=0.96 in Himachal), rising PM₂.₅ levels, deteriorating lake water quality - No objections filed by States/UTs - Chief Secretaries directed to implement State/UT-specific recommendations including carrying capacity studies, waste management infrastructure, electric vehicles promotion, air/water quality monitoring by 31.01.2026 with collated report by MoEF&CC by 31.03.2026. (Paras 1-16)
(B) Sustainable Tourism - Carrying capacity assessment mandatory in eco-sensitive zones, protected areas, high-influx destinations to regulate mass/pilgrim tourism - Promotion of theme-based tourism (eco, adventure, heritage), electric vehicles, waste-to-energy systems, nature-based solutions for pollution control - Institutional capacity building for climate adaptation, SDG alignment emphasized - Zonal Master Plans, Tourism Master Plans required per NGT/Supreme Court directives. (Paras 13-15)
Facts of the case:
Suo motu OAs registered on news reports highlighting catastrophic environmental costs of tourism in IHR - plastic waste choking mountains (92.7% trash plastic), microplastics in glaciers/rivers, garbage hillocks, groundwater contamination - Connected matters on status reports - EATIHR study covers 13 States/UTs documenting tourist influx, waste generation (e.g., Uttarakhand 1637 MT/day), air/water quality gaps, biodiversity impacts - No State objections to report.
Findings of Court:
EATIHR recommendations binding - State/UT-specific measures (e.g., Ladakh: waste recycling, Water ATMs; Himachal: green tax, electric buses; Uttarakhand: STPs augmentation) to be implemented time-bound - MoEF&CC to oversee compliance reporting.
Issues: Whether unregulated tourism in fragile IHR ecosystems requires mandatory carrying capacity studies, waste/pollution management, sustainable practices; implementation of undisputed EATIHR recommendations.
Ratio Decidendi: Tribunal mandates Chief Secretaries to ensure full implementation of EATIHR's evidence-based, State-specific recommendations for environmental protection amid rising tourism pressures, emphasizing carrying capacity, clean transport, monitoring to prevent irreversible ecological damage in IHR. (Paras 15-16)
Result: MAs/OAs disposed with directions for compliance reporting; matters relisted if necessary.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. suo motu oas on plastic pollution and unregulated tourism in himalayas (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. tribunal orders study and compliance by moef&cc and states (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. ihr overview: tourism benefits vs environmental degradation (Para 9 , 10 , 11) |
| 4. eatihr key findings on waste, air, water impacts (Para 12) |
| 5. state-wise eatihr analysis of tourism-environment linkages (Para 13) |
| 6. eatihr summary: correlations between tourism and pollution (Para 14) |
| 7. state-specific recommendations for sustainable tourism (Para 15) |
| 8. directions for chief secretaries to implement eatihr (Para 16) |
ORDER
1. Original Application No. 475/2024 was registered suo motu on the basis of the news item disclosing that the "Mountains of plastic are choking the Himalayan States". The news item was in respect of deposition and accumulation of microplastic in the Himalayan Mountains, rivers, lakes and streams. It discloses that these microplastics can be trapped in glaciers for a long time and get released into rivers during snow melting. It further states that the Indian Himalayan Region is a critical source of water in the subcontinent, feeding several major rivers of India including the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River systems and that unscientific plastic disposal is causing soil and water pollution in the Indian Himalayan Region and impacting its biodiversity, which is having an adverse impact on the fresh water sources on which the communities downstream depend. The cause of this plastic pollution is stated to be rapid and unplanned urbanization and changing production and consumption patterns along with a quantum jump in tourist footfall. The article further reveals that, as per the Himalayan cleanup waste audit in 2022, 92.7% of trash was plastic, with 72% of waste being non-recyclable plastic. The news item further states that India has one of the highest Mismanaged Waste Index (MWI), at 98.55%, and in the World, India is in 4th position. MWI is the gap in waste management capacity and plastic consumption. The article further claims that India is merely recycling 12% of its plastic waste through mechanical recycling.
2. The connected matter, MA No. 14/2024 in OA No. 178/2022 has been registered based on the status report submitted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Govt. of India in pursuance to the order dated 09.03.2022 passed in OA No. 178/2022.
3. The OA No. 178/2022 was also registered based on the media report disclosing that there was huge damage to the environment in the eco- sensitive Himalayan States of India on account of unregulated tourism activities. The news item disclosed that while tourism generates huge income and employment, it also results in the generation of huge waste that is not scientifically handled causing damage to the fragile eco-system of Himalayas. It alleges absence of requisite facilities to remediate the waste in a scientific manner and the resultant hillocks of garbage in the peripheries of the cities in that region resulting in release of harmful toxic gases in the atmosphere, contamination of ground water due to the formation of leachate and air pollution due to open burning of waste.
4. The Tribunal by order dated 09.03.2022 had disposed of the OA No. 178/2022 directing G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora to undertake the study of 12 Himalayan States and update any study already conducted by directing as under:
“xxx ………………………………..xxx……………………………………xxx
4. Accordingly, we direct the G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, which is tasked with studies of Himalayan region in particular, which includes Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal Hills, Meghalaya, Assam Hills, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh to undertake study and to update any study already conducted in light of the inputs available in the above media report. Such study/updation exercise may be complete
