Valid prior Environmental Clearance for incinerator within existing TSDF covers integrated hazardous waste facility; repeated challenges barred by delay, prior proceedings, and abuse of process, warranting dismissal with costs.

JUDGMENT

Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member

1. The above application is filed by the applicant, who is an agriculturist and was a former president of the Somapur Gram Panchayat. The application challenges the blatant and gross violations committed by the 5^th respondent by running a hazardous waste treatment storage and disposal facility which is a ‘Red’ category set up in Dobaspet Industrial area, Pemmanahalli and Thimmanayana Village, Nelamangala Talu, Bangalore.

2. The landfill facility has capacity 40,000 TPA and a hazardous waste incineration facility of capacity 5.5 million cal/hr. According to the applicant, the Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) is running without Environmental Clearance as required under EIA Notification, 2006 and it is in violation of the building criteria guidelines to TSDF besides operating in violation of National Green Tribunal order dated 26.09.2019.

3. The applicant, herein, had filed a PIL-W.P. No. 19927 of 2007 before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka objecting that the establishment of the TSDF. The said writ petition was disposed of on 12.08.2009 considering the fact that the facility was already established.

4. Once again the applicant had filed a writ petition no. 51509 of 2016 on the file of Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka pointing that the establishment of the TSDF is without Environmental Clearance. The TSDF has not taken post establishment remedial steps to comply with the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and that the TSDF has not established the Super Fund, Residual Liability Fund and Environment Relief Fund as mandated under the Hazardous and Other Waste (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016. The Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka thought it fit to transfer this writ petition to the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal and the writ petition was re-numbered as O.A. No. 654 of 2019.

5. The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal constituted a Joint Committee comprising of the representatives of MoEF&CC, Central Pollution Control Board, and Karnataka Pollution Control Board. A report was submitted on 17.08.2019 wherein it was specifically stated that the Environmental Clearance was taken for the incinerator and the same was treated as Environmental Clearance for the TSDF. However, the National Green Tribunal proceeded to pass the order of 26.09.2019 which reads as follows:

“6.Accordingly, report has been furnished by the joint Committee on 07.08.2019 finding the TSDF to be compliant except that consent to operate for a period from 01.07.2016 was refused by the SPCB against which an appeal was pending and the Appellate Authority directed maintenance of status quo. It is further stated that while Environmental Clearance (EC) was taken for incinerator, the same EC was being treated as EC for TSDF which does not meet the mandate of the rules. However, it is suggested that at this stage, separate EC may not be directed to be required. The concluding part of the report is as follows:

.......

7. In view of above, while we do not interfere with the functioning of the TSDF, we direct that the TSDF must comply with the law and the requisite EC may be obtained. The project proponent may apply for EC within two months. The Appellate Authority may deal with the appeal said to be pending for about three years expeditiously in accordance with