The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for not following its 2015 order, in which it had ordered to dismantle all the hand pumps in the six districts of Western UP where the groundwater is contaminated. The tribunal gave the state government five days to submit a compliance report in the matter.

The green panel had directed the state government in 2015 to permanently seal all the hand pumps, which are releasing contaminated water, in Ghaziabad, Shamli, Saharanpur, Meerut, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar districts.

The direction came on a PIL filed by an NGO. By NGO, "The latest directions came after the NGT was told that the government is in the process of dismantling the hand pumps and required more time. This is despite the fact that government was given the order to dismantle them way back in November 2015."