The National Green Tribunal (NGT) principal bench in Delhi has directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) to strictly verify the Consent to Operate (CTO) status of 49 hotels accused of violating environmental norms, making it clear that no establishment should be allowed to function without valid statutory clearances.The National Green Tribunal directed the UKPCB to ensure 49 Uttarakhand hotels have valid Consent to Operate and comply with environmental norms.The directions were issued by a bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad during the hearing of an original application filed by Kartik Sharma on July 7.The Tribunal directed the UKPCB to file a fresh compliance report within six weeks detailing the action taken against the 49 hotels, including the status of environmental compensation proceedings, recovery of compensation, disposal of pending cases, and the current status of the CTO for all establishments.According to an Action Taken Report (ATR) submitted by the UKPCB, final environmental compensation was assessed and imposed on 19 hotels for prolonged violations of environmental norms.The Board informed the Tribunal that while several of these hotels have challenged the compensation orders by filing appeals, others are yet to deposit the compensation amount. Only a few have complied with the payment directions.UKPCB officials further said that show-cause notices were issued to the remaining 30 hotels.Environmental compensation has since been imposed on 12 of them, while proceedings against the remaining 18 hotels are in the final stage. The Board assured the Tribunal that final orders in these cases would be passed within four weeks.During the hearing, however, the Bench said that the UKPCB was unable to clarify the status of the CTO granted to the 49 hotels.The Tribunal directed the Board to ensure that all the hotels operate only with a valid CTO and in strict compliance with applicable environmental regulations.“..counsel for the UKPCB could not point out the status of the Consent To Operate (CTO) issued to these 49 hotels. Hence, the UKPCB will ensure that these hotels operate only with the due Consent To Operate (CTO) and in compliance with the environmental norms. In view of the above, let a fresh report be filed by the UKPCB within six weeks, keeping in view the observations made above,” the NGT order said.The matter was posted for further hearing on September 21.