NGT Slams UP Govt's 'Inadequate Response' to Chromium Contamination, Orders Chief Secretary's Personal Intervention

New Delhi – In a sharp rebuke to state authorities, the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has castigated the Uttar Pradesh government for its persistent failure to address a severe public health and environmental crisis stemming from decades of industrial chromium contamination in Kanpur and surrounding districts. The Tribunal, citing a "delayed and inadequate response," has now mandated the personal intervention of the state's Chief Secretary to ensure the immediate provision of safe drinking water and medical care to thousands of affected residents.

The order, dated 27th May 2025, and made public on 5th June, consolidates four original applications concerning hazardous chromium-laden waste dumps and severe water pollution in Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, and Fatehpur. The Bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel, expressed profound dissatisfaction with the on-ground implementation of its previous directives, noting that "the seriousness of the issue appears to have not been grasped by the concerned administrative agencies."

This judicial escalation highlights a critical juncture in a long-standing battle for environmental justice, where regulatory inaction has left communities grappling with toxic exposure, severe water scarcity, and a dire lack of medical infrastructure.

A Glaring Disparity: Water Supply Falls Dangerously Short

The proceedings starkly exposed the chasm between official benchmarks and the grim reality for affected villagers. The Amicus Curiae, presenting a report from the District Magistrates, drew the Tribunal's attention to the service-level benchmark of 135 litres of water per person per day (lpcd) stipulated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for urban areas. Against this standard, the situation in the contaminated zones is alarming.

Residents in Rakhi Mandi (Kanpur Nagar) receive a mere 40-50 lpcd. The shortfall is equally severe in rural areas: * In Gram Panchayat Godharoli, 576 families receive an average of 55 lpcd, with the Amicus stating that, contrary to official claims of bi-daily supply, water is provided only once a day. A cluster of 30 families residing at a higher altitude reportedly receives no piped water at all. * In Abhaypur village, 1064 families are supplied at the same insufficient rate of 55 lpcd.

The Tribunal underscored the gravity of this failure, emphasizing that access to a minimum quantity of safe water is not a matter of bureaucratic convenience but a fundamental prerequisite for health and hygiene, particularly in an environment saturated with industrial toxins.

The Invisible Threat: Airborne Contamination and a Diagnostic Void

The hearing also brought to light the inadequacy of containment measures for the toxic chromium dumps. While authorities have erected barbed wire fencing around these sites, the Amicus Curiae argued that this does little to prevent the dispersal of airborne chromium particles, which pose a significant inhalation risk to nearby communities.

This assertion was substantiated with photographic evidence and a more disturbing revelation: random blood samples taken from residents of Godharoli village showed traces of heavy metals, including chromium and mercury. These neurotoxins are linked to a host of severe health conditions, including cancer, neurological disorders, and developmental abnormalities.

Compounding the crisis is a critical gap in medical infrastructure. The Tribunal was informed that no local facility possesses the capability to test for heavy metals in human blood; all samples must be sent to Lucknow for analysis. This diagnostic bottleneck means countless villagers suffering from symptoms consistent with heavy metal poisoning remain undiagnosed and untreated, their ailments officially unlinked to the environmental poison in their midst.

The state's assurance that steps are underway to develop local testing facilities and lay water pipelines was met with judicial skepticism. The Bench observed that despite a lapse of nearly one and a half months since its last order, "no substantial improvement has been observed on the ground."

A Legacy of Pollution and Systemic Failure

The crisis in Kanpur is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, troubling narrative of industrial pollution across India. Historically, regions like Sukinda Valley in Odisha (chromite mining), Ranipet in Tamil Nadu (chromate production), and areas near Kolkata's leather tanneries have become synonymous with chromium contamination.

The presence of mercury adds another layer of toxicity. A tragic episode in the Singrauli-Sonbhadra coalfield region saw the deaths of 53 children in 2011, later linked to mercury contamination in drinking water that was up to 26 times the permissible limit. As reported by Mint in 2014, citing a 1990s study by the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, authorities have long been aware of dangerously high mercury levels in the local population's blood, hair, and nails, yet the pollution has continued largely unabated.

This history of documented harm and subsequent inaction provides a crucial context for the NGT's stringent posture. The Tribunal’s intervention signals that judicial patience with bureaucratic inertia is wearing thin, especially when fundamental rights are at stake.

The Way Forward: A Mandate for Accountability

In its strongly worded directive, the NGT has placed the onus squarely on the highest echelons of the state bureaucracy. The order instructs the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to: 1. Personally Intervene: Ensure the immediate provisioning of the minimum requisite clean water supply (approaching the 135 lpcd benchmark) to all affected residents. 2. Establish Robust Mechanisms: Create effective systems for medical care, including accessible diagnostic facilities for heavy metal testing and treatment protocols for exposed populations. 3. Ensure Environmental Safety: Implement scientifically sound containment measures for the chromium dumps to prevent further air and water contamination.

The Tribunal stressed the need for "sensitivity and accountability" in addressing the plight of vulnerable populations and made it clear that the situation "demands immediate remedial and sustainable action and cannot be deferred any longer under bureaucratic delays."

The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on 1st July 2025. In a move indicating the urgency of the situation, the NGT has also granted the Amicus Curiae liberty to seek an earlier listing during the court's vacation period if circumstances warrant expedited intervention. This case will be closely watched by legal and environmental experts as a test of the NGT's power to enforce accountability and deliver justice to communities ravaged by industrial pollution.