Murthal eateries are working without government permissions

Murthal, Haryana is known for the most iconic roadside dhabas and restaurants, but this foodies paradise has been operating without approval of the Central Pollution Control Board and this issue has been taken to the National Green Tribunal.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the restaurants and roadside eateries in Murthal are functioning without the permission of the state pollution control boards and are extracting the groundwater without permission.

After a series of inspections conducted by the CPCB along with Haryana State Pollution Control Board and the Municipal Corporation, the board reached out the National Green Tribunal wherein the bench was headed by Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. The emphasis of the report was on the need for these roadside eateries to seek necessary permissions from the state pollution control boards for operating before using the resources.

As per the CPCB report: "The State Pollution Control Boards should ensure that these roadside eateries/restaurants obtain necessary permission from the boards as per the state policy. No unit should be allowed to be established in areas in which such facilities are not available and should be closed down or shifted to areas where such facilities are available."

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, suggested a few recommendations on waste collection and sewage treatment around these eateries. Also, the State Pollution Boards suggested to ensure that there is necessary infrastructure in terms of collection and treatment of sewage and solid waste has been provided prior to granting permission to such units.

"The state board must have robust mechanisms to evaluate compliance with norms of such units at least twice a year. The local authorities concerned should provide the necessary infrastructure, including collection and processing of segregated waste and collection and treatment of sewage from such units," as per the report.

What's more, the CPCB report also suggested that the units should properly channelise the fugitive emissions, including emissions from cooking and kitchen operations, by providing proper ducting and exhaust system.

Earlier, the National Green Tribunal had directed authorities to accelerate setting up of a solid waste treatment plant for management of garbage generated by eateries and asked why a decentralised treatment plant has not been set up by the 'dhabas' in the area. Referring to an old report by the state pollution control board, the NGT had noted that the integrated solid waste management project is expected to be completed by December 31, 2020.