NGT dismisses plea against BJP MP for polluting Saryu river

The National Green Tribunal today dismissed a plea seeking prosecution and imposition of fine on a BJP parliamentarian for allegedly tossing a plastic bottle in the Saryu river and making a mockery of the Swachh Bharat Mission and Ganga rejuvenation plan.
A vacation bench of Justice Dalip Singh and Expert Member Ranjan Chatterjee said the case lacked merit.
The plea, moved by two law students from a private university in Gurgaon, had alleged that a woman BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh threw a plastic bottle in the river, a tributary of the Ganga, in the presence of a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government.

The petition, moved through advocate Gaurav Bansal, had sought the initiation of criminal proceedings and imposition of fine on the basis of "polluter pays principle".
The plea was based on media reports which said that the woman MP, who was with the minister during the June 2 inspection of an embankment on the Saryu, tossed a plastic water bottle into the river.