New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal Thursday slapped a penalty of 5,000 rupees a day on hotels, inns and ashrams that spew waste into the Ganges River.

The tribunal also ordered total ban on the use of plastic of any kind from Gomukh to Haridwar along the Ganges from February 1.

These were among several steps the tribunal has taken to keep the river pollution free. The tribune was set up by the Indian parliament in 2010 to handle expeditious disposal of the cases pertaining to environmental issues

The tribunal was set up under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. It can enforce any legal right relating to environment and give relief and compensation for damages to persons and property. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues.

The tribunal held that if any hotel, dharamshala (inn) or ashram releases their domestic waste and sewage into the river, considered most sacred by Hindus, or its tributaries then “it shall be liable to pay environmental compensation for causing pollution of the river at the rate of Rs. 5,000 per day”.

The green panel divided the cleaning work of the Ganges into different segments –Gomukh to Haridwar (140 km), Haridwar to Kanpur (520 km), Kanpur to border of Uttar Pradesh, border of Uttar Pradesh to border of Jharkhand and border of Jharkhand to Bay of Bengal.

Besides the plastic ban, the Tribunal also prohibited throwing of any municipal waste, construction and demolition wastes into the Ganges and its tributaries, NDTV reported.

“There shall be complete prohibition on use of plastic i.e plastic carry bags/plastic plates, glasses, spoons, packages and allied items in all cities/towns falling on the river Ganga and its tributaries in Segment A Phase -1 (Gomukh to Haridwar).

“Under no circumstances, plastic carry bags of any thickness whatsoever would be permitted. The procurement, storing and sale of such plastic bags, plates, glasses, spoons etc are hereby prohibited, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said adding, “these restrictions would become operative with effect from February 1, 2016.”

The Tribunal, which did not pass any order with regard to nine hydro-power projects in Uttarakhand as the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, said that all the projects would build their own sewage treatment plants (STPs) and make them operational within three months.

The green bench further held that all the seriously polluting industries which are operating without consent from Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board shall be closed with immediate effect.

On the issue of mining on the river bed, the Tribunal said it shall be carried on in a highly regulated manner and under strict supervision.

“No mechanised river bed mining would be permitted. No JCBs (mechanical excavator) would be permitted to operate on the river bed,” it said.