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2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 1841
NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL NEW DELHI (PRINCIPAL BENCH)
Sudhir Agarwal, Judicial Member, Afroz Ahmad, Expert Member
Ramesh Mahendru – Appellant
Versus
State of Punjab – Respondent
Original Application No. 479/2023
For the Respondents:Mr. Prakhyat Gargaysa (Proxy Counsel for Mr. Divyam Nandrajog, AAG for State of Punjab)|Mr. Prashant Manchanda, Ms. Nancy Shah (Advocates for Respondent No. 3 with Mr. Gautam Jain, Commissioner, MC Jalandhar), Mr. Naginder Benipal (Advocate for PPCB with Mr. Gurjinder Singh Majithia, Member Secretary, PPCB)
Local authorities' non-compliance with SWM Rules 2016 Rule 15 mandates 'Polluter Pays' environmental compensation @0.01 paisa/kg/day on legacy waste plus Section 15 EP Act penalties, with time-bound remediation and coercive recovery.
Headnote:(A) Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 - Rule 15 - Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 - Section 15 - Non-compliance by local authority with duties for waste segregation, collection, processing, legacy waste remediation, leachate treatment, groundwater monitoring, fire safety, and emergency planning at 30-year-old dumpsite (16.25 acres, ~15 lakh MT legacy waste) - Groundwater contaminated (pH 2.13-6.38, TDS 3248-5407, heavy metals beyond limits) - Violation of statutory mandate attracts 'Polluter Pays' principle - Environmental compensation computed @ 0.01 paisa/kg/day on legacy waste quantum - Penalty proceedings directed - Restoration plan mandated. (Paras 4, 7, 26-28)
(B) National Green Tribunal - Suo motu jurisdiction - Joint Committee Report binding - Local authority must implement time-bound remediation including risk assessment, emergency plans, fencing, CCTV, weighbridge, piezometers, methane detectors, leachate treatment, bio-remediation - Integration of informal waste pickers, source segregation, processing facilities essential - Continued non-compliance despite prior penalties warrants coercive recovery. (Paras 9-10, 27)
Facts of the case:
Suo motu application on letter petition highlighting garbage dumping on flyover causing pollution, foul odour, health hazards - Joint Committee inspected dumpsite revealing unsegregated waste dumping, no treatment, legacy waste accumulation, environmental violations - Local authority responses showed partial actions (garbage removal from flyover, some machinery procurement) but substantial gaps in processing capacity (500 TPD generation vs. 120 TPD processing), pending tenders/projects.
Findings of Court:
Utter non-compliance with Rule 15 SWM Rules persisting despite directions, prior environmental compensation (Rs.4.50 Cr imposed, Rs.90 lakhs deposited) - Legacy waste escalated to 15 lakh MT - Imposed fresh environmental compensation Rs.2.70 Cr for 01.04.2024-31.07.2024 - Directed penalty under Section 15 EP Act - Joint Committee for restoration plan.
Issues: Whether local authority complied with mandatory SWM Rules duties; quantum of environmental compensation for ongoing legacy waste pollution; measures for dumpsite remediation and enforcement.
Ratio Decidendi: Rule 15 casts non-delegable duties on local authorities for comprehensive waste management - Prolonged violations degrade environment, necessitate stringent 'Polluter Pays' compensation and penal action - Mere future promises insufficient; time-bound compliance, coercive recovery required to prevent public suffering.
Result: Original Application disposed with directions for payment of Rs.2.70 Cr compensation within 2 months, penalty proceedings, restoration plan execution.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. suo-moto cognizance on garbage pollution complaint (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. joint committee findings on dumpsite violations (Para 4 , 7) |
| 3. initial remedial actions by municipal corporation (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. environmental compensation for swm non-compliance (Para 8 , 9 , 16 , 23 , 24) |
| 5. respondents' compliance reports and action plans (Para 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 22) |
| 6. tribunal assessment of ongoing swm failures (Para 21 , 25 , 26 , 27) |
| 7. imposition of polluter pays compensation and penalties (Para 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32) |
ORDER
1. The Original Application was registered in exercise of suo-moto jurisdiction in view of law laid down by Supreme Court in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs. Ankita Sinha, (2022) 13SCC 401, on a letter petition dated 17.05.2023, received from Ramesh Mahendru, President, Alfa Mahendru Foundation.
2. The complainant had said that huge garbage has been dumped on the PAP Flyover near Chowgitti Bypass Jalandhar city which is emitting foul smell causing pollution and damaging environment and also creating health hazard situation to the residents.
3. Tribunal took cognizance of the matter on 04.08.2023 and found it appropriate to obtain a Factual Report by constituting a Joint Committee comprising Central Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘CPCB’), Punjab State Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as ‘PSPCB’) and District Magistrate, Jalandhar.
4. Joint Committee submitted its Report dated 02.11.2023 stating that site was visited on 15.10.2023. Its observations in the Report read as under:
a) The dump site falls within the MC limits and is established in an area of about 16.2 acres. The officials of Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar informed that the site is in use for the last about 30 years.
b) The Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar has provided 30 dump trucks and 43 trollies to carry the solid waste to the dump site.
c) At the time of visit about 3 trollies and 03 dump trucks reached the site but none of them was covered.
d) None of the vehicles was compartmentalized. No segregation of waste is being done before sending it to the dump site and no segregation is done at the dump site.
e) No treatment of fresh waste or legacy waste is being carried out. The unsegregated waste received is dumped as such at the site.
f) No weigh bridge has been provided at the dump site to ascertain the waste being received at site.
g) The Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar officials informed that as pera survey carried out in 2019, 08 lacs MT solid waste was present at the dump site and 400-500 MT waste was being received everyday at that time. Considering increase in daily waste generation and accumulation of waste since 2019, the total legacy waste lying at the dump site could be to the tune of 15 lacs MT.
h) No boundary wall or fencing has been provided around the dumpsite and as such waste was found spread outside the dump site on to the road leading to the site.
i) The Kala Sanghian drain passes at around 400 mtr away from the dump site. A lot of waste was found dumped along the bank of Kala Sanghian drain adding to the pollution in the drain.
j) No plantation has been provided around the dump site.
k) No buffer zone has been left by MC Jalandhar around the dumpsite.
l) The piezometers earlier provided for ground water monitoring are buried under the waste and as such sampling of ground water cannot be done. Further, the ground water sampling from piezometers provided near entrance and inside the dump site was earlier carried out by the Board in October 2020 and samples were got analysed from PBTI Lab.
m) As per analysis report, various parameters were found beyond the prescribed limits as tabulated below:
| r. No. | Parameters Piezometer | inside site | Piezometer at entrance | Maximum permissible limits as per SWM Rules 2016 |
| 1. | pH | 2.13 | 6.38 | 6.5-8.30 |
| 2. | TDS | 3248 | 5407 | 500 |
| 3. | Chloride | 1499 | 1750 | 250 |
| 4. | Copper | 0.02 | 0.14 | 0.05 |
| 5. | Iron | 0.43 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
| 6. | Nitrate | 7.6 | 260 | 45 |
| 7. | Phenolic compound | BDL | 0.02 | 0.001 |
| 8. | Sulphate | 875 | 1750 | 200 |
