NGT imposes ₹2,080 crore fine on Punjab for improper waste management

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed the State of Punjab to pay ₹2,180 crores as Environmental Compensation for failing to treat solid and liquid waste [In re: Compliance of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental issue]..A bench of chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Prof. Senthil Vel said that it was a matter concern that even after 48 years after the enactment of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and expiry of statutory timelines under Solid Waste Management Rules, gaps continued to plague waste management in the State."Are there insurmountable difficulties for State authorities or lack of will and determination? We find it difficult to believe the first. In our view, it is lack of good governance and determination responsible for the situation which needs to be remedied soonest," the NGT said. The order was passed pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions in Almitra H. Patel Vs. Union of India & Ors and Paryavaran Suraksha vs. Union of India requiring the tribunal to monitor enforcement of solid and liquid waste management norms..The tribunal said that a change in approach was needed in realizing that remedial action cannot wait for an indefinite period. "We have suggested change in approach in realizing that remedial action cannot wait for indefinite period as is being proposed by the Administration. Sources of funding are laid down in the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Responsibility of the State is to have comprehensive plan to control pollution which is its absolute liability, which is not being understood," it stated.It further stated that compliance with environmental norms on waste management has to be given high priority, and that it is high time the State realized its duty to law and to citizens and adopted further monitoring at its own level..The NGT determined that the State had to be held accountable for violation to the extent of discharge of 1000 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage for which it fined the State ₹2,000 crores. For failure to manage solid waste, the fine was fixed at ₹180 crores, taking the total fine amount to ₹2,180 crores.Since the tribunal had already had fined the State ₹100 crores for failure to prevent discharge of untreated sewage and to remediate solid waste, it directed the State to deposit ₹2080 crores in a ring-fenced account to be operated as per the directions of Chief Secretary and utilised for restoration measures..Punjab is the fifth state after West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to have been fined for improper waste management by the NGT in the past few weeks. .[Read Order]