Divisional commissioner Radhakrishna Game on Thursday instructed the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) officials at the Bombay high court-appointed high-powered committee meet to act against constructions in blue line areas of the Godavari on Gangapur Road.
His instructions came after he received complaints about alleged construction activities within the blue line of the river and in other areas of the city. The chairperson of the committee on Godavari pollution also received complaints about removal of ‘Vastrantar Griha’, a structure used as a changing room by devotees on the bank of the Godavari river.
“We must file a civil application to the Bombay high court informing the court about the non-compliance of the court order about the permanent recruitment of police staff to protect the Godavari river from being polluted,” said Game, directing the police administration.
Discussions were also held for the use of a chemical spray, Glyphosate, to remove water hyacinth in the Godavari river. The petitioner of the PIL on the Godavari in the high court, Rajesh Pandit and other environmentalists, opposed the use of Glyphosate to remove water hyacinth.
“The NMC and ZP should seek The National Environment Engineering Research Institute’s (NEERI) opinion on the issue,” said Game.
Women self-help groups (SHGs), which used water hyacinths to make different artefacts, were also felicitated during the same meeting. Zilla Parishad (ZP) Nashik CEO Ashima Mittal trained women from the SHGs on making different household articles from water hyacinths.
Game also instructed the ZP officials to provide markets for the articles made with water hyacinth, by women members of the SHGs and instructed NMC officials to set a time-frame to upgrade old Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).
The meet was attended by district collector Jalaj Sharma, ZP Nashik CEO, Ashima Mittal, Deputy commissioner of NMC, Vijay Kumar Mundhe, director of solid waste department of NMC Kalpana Kute, sm, officials from the police department and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and other related departments.
