#RealtyNewsRoundUp: Govt Terms Water Aid Report On India's Sanitation Faulty

The government has countered a Water Aid report on India's sanitation, saying the global non-profit organisation's finding "extrapolated" data from the period between 2000 and 2015, and missed out the work done under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation said the report, titled Out of Order-The State of the World's Toilets 2017, was "factually incorrect" and would mislead "readers in believing that this is the present status of sanitation in India".

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Now, people refusing to pay environment compensation for causing air pollution would be slapped with an additional fine and served notices to appear before the National Green Tribunal. A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar has now asked the Delhi government to take strict action against those who violated its order on burning of waste or generating dust emissions through construction activity.

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The Allahabad High Court on November 21 asked the Uttar Pradesh government what steps it has taken to check air pollution in the state. Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Abdul Moin asked chief standing counsel Ramesh Pandey to gather information as to what had been done to check air pollution in compliance with the November-16 order of the court.

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A Madras High Court Bench on November 21 rejected a plea by private educational institutions, including the St John's matriculation school, to quash demand notices issued by the city corporation in Madurai for payment of Rs 20.85 crore as property tax. Disposing their petitions, Justice R Mahadevan agreed with the corporation counsel's view that under the Corporation Act, the institutions should satisfy certain conditions to enjoy exemption from paying property tax.  

Source: Media reports