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Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
National Green Tribunal points out gaps in Uttar Pradesh govt report on STPs, sewage waste management
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has raised serious objections to the Uttar Pradesh government's report on the status of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Sewage Waste Management (SWM) submitted to the tribunal. Directing the government to fill the gaps, a three-member bench of NGT comprising chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A. Senthil Vel passed the order on May 26. The tribunal also handed over a prescribed format to the state government in which details have to be submitted before the next hearing on July 28. 'Report dated 16.04.2025 filed on 24.5.2025 disclosing the status of solid and liquid waste management does not point out gaps plugged thereby not complying with SWM Rules, Water Act and order of the Supreme Court,' the tribunal said. Anomalies pointed out by tribunal Against disclosure of 95% waste processing facilities (19,014 TDP or tons per day), the quantity of segregated waste is 74% (14,884 TPD). This anomaly needs to be clarified. No clarification was given on the operation of waste processing plants without authorisation under the SWM Rules. The report discloses figures of waste generation in 762 local bodies, but does not reveal the actual waste processed by urban local bodies. The report says there has been 100% remediation of legacy waste at 60 sites but no material has been placed on record in support of this claim. Figures disclosed indicate 60 sites remediated and only 26 sites are left with legacy waste. Since, in other ULBs, waste processing facilities do not exist, specific disclosure of legacy waste in such ULBs should be pointed out. No disclosure has been made on the operational status of waste-to-energy plants. Legacy waste Legacy waste refers to accumulated solid waste that has been improperly collected and stored for an extended period, often in landfills or dumpsites. It is essentially a backlog of waste that was not managed effectively and has created a significant environmental problem. Sewage management In view of sewage generation of 5,500 MLD (million litres per day) and installed treatment capacity of 4,651 MLD (but treating only 3,122 MLD), the gap in treatment comes to 2,378 MLD. Untreated sewage is being discharged into the environment, which is evidenced by the disclosure that only 21.08 lakh households (HH) are connected to the sewerage system out of 52.17 lakh houses in 17 municipal corporations. STPs have been designed in excessive capacities compared to sewage generation in Agra, Bijnor, Anupshahar, Chirakoot Karwi, Pilkhuva, Kannauj, Bela, Pratapgarh and other cities. But many urban local bodies do not have STPs, including Bahraich, Banda, Deoria, Fatehpur, Gonda, Hathras, Sambhal and Bhadohi. THE CASE In 2018, the Supreme Court in the 'Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti & Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors' case issued key directions regarding environmental protection, particularly river pollution and industrial waste treatment. The top court made it compulsory for industries to install and maintain functional primary effluent treatment plants (PETPs) within a specific timeframe. SC directed the municipalities to operate existing STPs and established timelines for setting up of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) and STPs. The apex court also emphasized on the responsibility of municipalities to ensure public health, sanitation, and solid waste management. The Supreme Court permitted Uttar Pradesh to approach NGT with an application regarding the feasibility of the time lines set by the top court. The NGT was tasked with monitoring compliance with the Supreme Court's directions.
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Everise Launches Strategic Partnership with Krisp, Driving AI-Powered CX Across Global Workforce
PLANTATION, Fla., June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Everise, a leading customer experience (CX) solutions provider, today unveiled a strategic partnership with Krisp, deploying its industry-leading real-time voice AI platform across Everise's global agent workforce. This combines Everise's award-winning people team, deep client expertise and operational excellence, with Krisp's real-time AI technology. The partnership reinforces Everise and Krisp's shared vision for a future where human agents are superpowered by AI, delivering customer experiences that are faster, clearer, and more empathetic than ever before – also marking a major step forward in Everise's journey to redefine customer support, enhancing productivity, clarity, and support quality, at scale. Krisp's advanced AI technology, including accent neutralization and noise cancellation, has been rolled out globally on 10,000 Everise seats, and will be deployed across the board in the next few months. The unified, real-time solution will enable Everise champion agents to resolve issues faster, bridge language and accent barriers with ease, and deliver more impactful, effective customer interactions. Additional features such as speech interpretation and Agent Assist are planned for a phased rollout at a later stage as part of the roadmap. "At Everise, we believe the future of CX lies with empowering people with the right technology," said Sudhir Agarwal, Founder & CEO of Everise. "We are proud to partner with Krisp to further our shared vision of amplifying the human touch with real-time AI. Together, we're helping enterprises meaningfully elevate every customer experience. This is innovation with impact – and it's the future of CX." "Everise is setting the bar for what modern CX looks like," said Davit Baghdasaryan, CEO and Co-Founder at Krisp. "By rolling out the full Krisp AI platform across their agent fleet, they're investing in the future: one where every voice interaction is faster, clearer, and more intelligent. We're proud to partner with a company that shares our belief in real-time AI for real human impact." About Everise Founded in 2016, Everise is a global leader transforming customer service for the healthcare, transport, logistics, insurance, financial services, and tech sectors. Backed by Brookfield and Warburg Pincus, the company solves problems for the millions of customers of the world's leading brands by combining the best technology with compassionate service. With 28,000 champion agents operating across eight strategic markets globally our customer service solutions are high-performing, secure, and agile, enabling businesses to scale globally while achieving top customer satisfaction. Learn more at About Krisp Founded in 2017, Krisp is the pioneer in AI-powered Voice Productivity solutions. The Krisp Voice AI platform transforms voice conversations in real time—removing background noise and voices, converting accents, translating speech live, and providing intelligent agent assistance. Deployed on over 200 million devices, delivering built-in privacy, and works across any audio hardware or voice application. Each month, Krisp processes over 75 billion minutes of voice and has transcribed more than 40 million calls, helping contact centers boost agent performance and deliver clearer, more productive conversations. Learn more at
New Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NGT issues notice to Odisha chief secretary, three others in legacy waste case
CUTTACK: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued show cause notice to the chief secretary, Odisha, secretary of the Housing and Urban Development department, Bargarh collector and executive officer of Bargarh municipality in connection with the alleged non-compliance of order regarding removal of legacy waste from Bargarh town for more than a decade. NGT's east zone bench comprising Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member) and Dr Arun Kumar Verma (Expert Member) observed, 'In the circumstances, we find sufficient justification in this particular matter where action should be taken for prosecution of the authorities who have not complied with the Tribunal's order by initiation of prosecution under Section 26 of NGT Act, 2010.' 'However, before proceeding further in the matter, we find it appropriate to give a last opportunity to the concerned authorities hence we give opportunity to respondents to show cause as to why appropriate directions be not issued for initiation of prosecution against them for committing offence by non-complying and disobeying the directions of the Tribunal and thereby, attracting the provisions of Section 26 of NGT Act, 2010,' the bench stated. Response by the said authorities shall be submitted within one month, the bench added, further posting the matter to July 28. As per section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act, non-compliance of direction of Tribunal is an offence for which punishment as prescribed includes imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to Rs 10,000 crore. Ramakanta Rout and six other residents of Purushotam Nagar in ward no 15 under Bargarh Municipality area filed the petition seeking criminal proceedings against the authorities for non-compliance of orders the Tribunal had issued on March 23, 2023. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy represented the petitioners.
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Time of India
NGT pulls up authorities over non-removal of legacy waste in Bargarh
1 2 Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to the chief secretary, secretary, housing & urban development department, collector (Bargarh) and executive officer of Bargarh municipality to show cause within one month as to why they should not face trial for non-compliance of orders regarding removal of legacy waste dumped for the past 10 to 15 years in Bargarh town. NGT's east zone bench in Kolkata was hearing a petition seeking criminal proceedings against authorities for non-compliance of orders the tribunal issued on March 23, 2023. The legacy waste dump sites has resulted in huge damage to the environment and posed health hazards to the population in the vicinity of such dump sites. In the order uploaded on Wednesday (May 28), the bench comprising Sudhir Agarwal (judicial member) and Dr Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) said, "Under these circumstances, we find sufficient justification in this particular matter where action should be taken for prosecution of the authorities who have not complied with the tribunal's order by initiation of prosecution under Section 26 of NGT Act, 2010." "However, before proceeding further, we find it appropriate to give a last opportunity to the concerned authorities hence we give opportunity to respondents to show cause as to why appropriate directions be not issued for initiation of prosecution against them for committing offence by non-complying and disobeying the directions of tribunal and thereby, attracting the provisions of Section 26 of NGT Act, 2010," the bench added and scheduled the matter for July 28. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ele criou a primeira plataforma de terceirização de mão de obra e já faturou milhões Russel Serviços Saiba Mais Undo Section 26 of National Green Tribunal Act, says that non-compliance of direction of tribunal is an offence for which punishment as prescribed includes imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to Rs 10 crore. Ramakanta Rout and six other residents of Purushotam Nagar in ward no. 15 under Bargarh municipality area filed the petition. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy represented the petitioners. On March 23, 2023, the tribunal disposed of the petition with a direction to Bargarh municipality to ensure complete treatment of legacy waste of over 51,000 metric tonnes through bio-mining/micro composting centres/material recovery facilities by Dec 31, 2023. The tribunal also directed the state govt to immediately deposit Rs 1.84 crore in an ESCROW account to be utilised for the remediation measures by Bargarh municipality. "More than two years have passed but the concerned authorities have not taken care to take directions seriously and take steps towards their compliance. But it appears that there is a lackadaisical approach adopted by the said authorities with regard to directions issued by tribunal," the bench remarked, adding, "The state of affairs as noticed is very unsatisfactory, particularly, when it relates to serious contamination and pollution of environment i.e. , contamination of land as well as river water." "We also do not find any effective explanation or reason in the affidavit of district collector (Bargarh) as to why for the last more than two years, it was not possible to comply with the tribunal's directions. On this aspect, the reply is virtually silent. The only reason, therefore, evident is, lack of sincerity and seriousness on the part of authorities concerned towards preservation of environment and compliance of directions of Tribunal," the bench observed.
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
NGT warns Odisha officials of prosecution over waste management lapses in Bargarh
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata, has issued notices to the State of Odisha, the Bargarh District Collector, and the municipal authorities of Bargarh town, seeking an explanation as to why prosecution should not be initiated against them for failing to comply with its 2023 directives on municipal waste management and for allowing continued pollution in the region. The Bench, comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal (Judicial Member) and Dr. Arun Kumar Verma (Expert Member), expressed strong dissatisfaction with what it termed the 'lackadaisical approach' of the authorities. It observed that the repeated non-compliance could attract penal action under Section 26 of the NGT Act, 2010. The matter stems from a petition filed by Ramakanta Rout, a resident of Bargarh, who alleged that land in Ward 15 of Bargarh Municipality was being used as an unscientific dumping ground. He further raised concerns about severe contamination of the Jeera River - a critical drinking water source for the town - due to untreated municipal waste discharge. In its judgment dated March 23, 2023, the Tribunal had directed the State to deposit over ₹1.84 crore into an ESCROW account for environmental remediation. It also mandated the installation of five Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and completion of bio-mining of legacy waste by December 31, 2023. Additionally, the Amasranga waste facility was to be brought into compliance with environmental norms. However, an inspection by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) in January 2025, and a subsequent affidavit filed earlier this month, revealed substantial non-compliance. The report stated that the penalty amount had not been deposited, STPs remained uninstalled, and bio-mining was incomplete. Untreated sewage was continuing to pollute the Jeera River, and water samples from the river and nearby groundwater sources indicated contamination beyond permissible limits. In an affidavit dated May 12, 2025, the District Collector of Bargarh cited progress, including the receipt of ₹1.21 crore for bio-mining and a revised proposal for a single wastewater treatment plant. However, the Tribunal found these claims inadequate, stating that the directions issued in 2023 had remained largely unimplemented even after more than two years. The Bench has granted the respondents - namely the State of Odisha, the District Collector, and Bargarh Municipality - one month to show cause why prosecution should not be initiated under Section 26 of the NGT Act. This provision allows for imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ₹10 crore, or both, for failure to comply with Tribunal orders. Further, the Member Secretary of the OSPCB has been asked to explain why no penal action or environmental compensation has been imposed on the violators despite the documented breaches. The matter is listed for the next hearing on July 28. Shankar Pani, counsel for the petitioner, noted that it was a rare instance of the Tribunal contemplating prosecution against government functionaries for repeated defiance of its orders.
