Overview
- The National Green Tribunal’s Central Zone bench told the Central and Madhya Pradesh pollution boards to submit a scientific report before the next hearing on July 17.
- The order stems from a petition claiming about 11,000 litres of milk and 210 sarees were immersed in the Narmada during a religious event in Sehore district.
- The tribunal noted that no scientific evidence has been filed so far linking milk immersion to pollution under the case record.
- It asked regulators to assess whether current environmental rules already cover such rituals or if new guidelines are required.
- The bench cited that organic inputs like milk can raise Biological Oxygen Demand, which lowers oxygen in water and can harm fish in a river that supports irrigation and drinking supplies across several states.