The NGT (National Green Tribunal), the Indian Tribunal for Environmental Crimes, has published a 543-page document that indicates a series of measures that industries operating on the banks of the Ganges are invited to comply. If they fail, they face a penalty of up to 50,000 rupees (about 700 euros). The leather industry, considered by the Indian authorities as the first environmental gangster disaster, is in the lead. In State of Uttar Pradesh, six weeks were granted to break up the Jaimau district by moving tanneries to another site, while imposing on tanning districts of Banther and Unnao to equip water treatment plants for chromium disposal within four weeks. Unfortunately, India’s tannery situation is not an isolated problem. After the long-overdue closure of the Hazaribagh district, the newish Savar still struggle to take off. Out of 155 tanneries that operate (and have just caught a punishment from the Supreme Court because of the delay with which they moved), only nine have the gas supply.
India, the Tribunal forces tannery districts to equip themselves with purifiers. Bangladesh, Savar lacks gas
