Earlier this month, Newslaundry went to Baghpat, in Uttar Pradesh, and reported on the heavy metal contamination in the drinking water that goes to the villages of Tavela Garhi, Sarora and Patti Banjara.

Despite repeated National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) state machinery – including UP Jal Nigam – had failed to provide clean drinking water to villages that are located on the banks of the river Hindon in Baghpat, Muzzafarnagar, Ghaziabad, Shamli, Saharanpur and Meerut. As a result, residents of these areas are suffering from severe liver and stomach ailments while many are born with physical deformities, because of the presence of contaminants like magnesium, iron, nickel and lead in the ground water table.

Today, the NGT Principal Bench issued a Show Cause Notice to the State of UP and UP Jal Nigam to “show cause as to why we should not award compensation under Section 15 and 17 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 against these Organisation in favour of the people who have suffered illness because of drinking polluted water.” The mentioned sections give the Tribunal power to order or provide relief and compensation to victim families.

The show cause notice also lists measures taken by the state in the last 10 years to bring the water pollution levels under prescribed limit. Moreover, the tribunal ordered the State to produce the District Magistrate, the Chief Medical Officer of Baghpat as well as the Managing Director and Chief Engineer of UP Jal Nigam at the next NGT hearing, on September 9.

The State and UP Jal Nigam have to file their reply within a week.