NOIDA, Jan. 23 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of the death of Yuvraj Mehta, who drowned in a waterlogged trench in Noida's Sector 150, and issued notices to several departments of the Uttar Pradesh government, including the district magistrate of Noida and principal secretary (environment) of the state government. The body observed that the incident raised serious concerns over compliance with environmental norms.

The principal bench, headed by justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel, passed the order after taking note of news reports indicating alleged lapses in stormwater management and prolonged waterlogging that led to the tragedy in the early hours of January 17.

Based ...