U D Salvi appointed acting chairperson of NGT

Justice Umesh Dattatraya Salvi has been appointed acting chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT) following the superannuation of Justice Swatanter Kumar. He will hold the post till a new Chairperson is appointed or till his superannuation, whichever is earlier. During Justice Kumar tenure as NGT chief, he passed several landmark orders and judgements. These include the ban on 10- year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles, the slew of directions for rejuvenation of the Ganga and Yamuna, the demolition of illegal hotels in Himachal Pradesh and the ban on plastic items in Delhi, Haridwar and Punjab. His recent order capping the number of pilgrims at Vaishno Devi to 50,000 per day and his direction to maintain silence at Amarnath invited ire from various quarters.