Shimla, July 19 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed serious concern over shortcomings in Himachal Pradesh's solid and liquid waste management systems and directed the state government to take time-bound measures to address untreated sewage, poor sewer connectivity, and unscientific waste disposal across urban and rural areas.

The directions came while the principal bench of the tribunal, headed by chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava, reviewed the fifth six-month compliance report submitted by the chief secretary of Himachal Pradesh on the implementation of waste management rules.

The tribunal observed that although the state has 78 sewage treatment plants (STPs) with an installed treatment capacity of 149.248 million ...