The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the state government to set up a committee headed by the state chief secretary to prepare a permanent solid waste disposal and drainage system in Gurudev’s Shantiniketan. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is the nodal agency for the project. The committee has been directed to submit a detailed project report to the National Green Tribunal within a week.

Talking to The Statesman, environmentalist Subhas Datta said that the biggest abode of peace in India is Shantiniketan, but so far there has been no scientific solid waste disposal system and it also lacks proper drainage systems. After this fresh directive, steps will be taken to check the solid waste disposal besides the organisation of the upcoming Poush Mela, he added. In an major judgment, the National Green Tribunal has passed an order on Wednesday to restore back the balance of the environment after the Poush Mela in Shantiniketan.

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Talking to The Statesman, environmentalist Subhas Datta alleged that though Poush Mela has been organised for the last 124 years, there has been no steps taken with regard to solid waste and drainage disposal for the 1,000 stalls. Several thousands of people used to defacate in the open due to lack of proper solid waste disposal of the toilets and drainage system, he has alleged. Besides, over 6,500 students and 500 teachers stay in Visva Bharati University hostels and campuses.

There is also no solid waste disposal system and proper drainage facility and the contaminated water flows into the water bodies. The National Green Tribunal ordered a committee to to be set up to address these problems. The committee will be headed by state chief secretary and will also include, vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati University, district magistrate of Birbhum, chairman of Bolpur Municipality, Shantiniketan Trust and West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

According to the NGT’s directive, environmentalist Subhas Datta, chairman of West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Kalyan Rudra and the then advocate general Jayanta Narayan Gupta will submit a report to WBPCB. WBPCB then will submit a report to state chief secretary. Then the committee headed by state chief secretary will prepare the draft proposal of solid waste and drainage disposal system in Shantiniketan. Mr Anirban Sarkar, officiating public relations officer of VBU said that the central university will follow the directives of the National Green Tribunal.

Poush Mela is the occasion when Maharshi Debendranath Tagore along with twelve others adopted Brahmo. The mela is a remembrance of this occasion on the seventh day of the Poush month, which is usually on the last week of December. The mela is a perfect amalgamation of different cultures and traditions. There will be a total of 1,604 stalls in the four-day long Poush Mela this year. The rent for the stalls will range between Rs 2,550 to Rs 87,500. Dokra and pot artists have been given 84 stalls free of cost. After the end of the fourday old Poush Mela the stall owners have to remove their stalls failing which the security deposit money of Rs 5000 to Rs 20,000 will be forfeited.