Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the collector to file a response within two weeks on alleged unscientific dumping of fly ash at Nandgaon. The court also sought details of the action taken on an earlier inspection report of the site.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas passed the directions while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation initiated after a newspaper report highlighted the alleged dumping. The court had appointed Arnav Pansare as amicus curiae to assist it in examining the issue. Ravi Sanyal appeared for Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).Pansare, after inspecting the site, told the court that fly ash appeared to be at risk of being washed into Pench river during the monsoon, potentially causing water pollution. He submitted geo-referenced and satellite images in support of his observations.The court had earlier directed the district administration to inspect the dumping site, following which the collector constituted a committee of officials. The bench has now specifically asked the administration to disclose what action was taken on the committee’s report, along with its response to the allegations.The court has not recorded any final findings on whether fly ash from the Nandgaon site is entering Pench river. The collector’s response and details of the action taken on the inspection report are expected to clarify the issue at the next stage of the proceedings.The media reports highlighted that ash-laden slurry from the breached containment pond flowed into agricultural fields, causing extensive crop damage and raising concerns over contamination of nearby water bodies.Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (Mahagenco) acquired 723 acres of land at Nandgaon in 1988 for ash disposal. However, as large portions of the land remained unused for years, local farmers had been cultivating it.The latest breach comes after a similar incident in 2021, when the fly ash pond had also ruptured, triggering widespread protests by farmers. Following that incident, govt had reportedly prohibited further dumping of fly ash at the site.
