Noida: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and the state groundwater department to correctly identify the number of car washing centres operating illegally in Noida and Greater Noida after it found a discrepancy in their report.The order came while hearing a miscellaneous application which claimed several of these centres were operating without necessary permissions and causing excessive groundwater extraction.The groundwater department had submitted a report on March 16, which said there were 193 car washing centres operating in the district. Out of these, 55 were in industrial areas while the remaining were in non-industrial areas.However, the tribunal bench, comprising chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad, noted that the pollution control board had earlier filed a report which put the number of these centres at 204.NGT asked both the authorities to verify the data and submit a fresh report within four weeks, posting the next date of hearing for Oct 12.During the hearing, the state authorities detailed the action they have taken against the washing centres. UPPCB said of the 138 units operating in non-industrial areas, power supply to 100 has been disconnected.Regarding the 55 units operating in the industrial area, the groundwater department in its report said that 14 have obtained required permission while 12 have applied to obtain permission. Five were found to have closed operations while one was found to have no boring or water connection. “As many as 23 units were found to be operating without any permission and they had not made any move to get themselves regularised. So a decision was taken by the district groundwater management council to impose a fine of Rs 2 lakh on each of them under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019 for non-compliance with permission requirements,” the department said.
