PPCB imposes ₹35-cr collective fine on all urban local bodies
NGT HAD SLAPPED NOTICE ON PUNJAB GOVT AFTER A FAMILY LIVING NEAR LUDHIANA’S MAIN DUMP SITE DIED IN A SHANTY FIRE LAST MONTH
LUDHIANA: The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has directed all 163 urban local bodies (ULBS) of the state to pay environmental compensation amounting to ₹35.26 crore for failing to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules as well as for violating the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
While the municipal corporations (MCS) of Amritsar and Ludhiana, with population above 10 lakh each, have been directed to pay ₹2.2 crore each, the Jalandhar MC has to pay a penalty of ₹1.1 crore for violating the rules and failing to deal with legacy waste.
Earlier, the NGT vide order passed on January 10, 2020, had directed that continued failure in compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, will result in liability of every local body to pay compensation at the rate of ₹10 lakh per month for population above 10 lakh, ₹5 lakh per month for population between 5 lakh and 10 lakh, and ₹1 lakh for population below 5 lakh.
There are 163 ULBS in the state. Amritsar and Ludhiana MCS have population above 10 lakh, Jalandhar MC falls under the second category and the remaining 160 ULBS have population less than 5 lakh.
In the order passed on Monday, the PPCB said: “The noncompliance of Solid Waste Management Rules and failure for commencement of bio-remediation of legacy waste has made the ULBS liable to pay environmental compensation. The total amount on these two counts amounts to ₹35.26 crores.” Last year, too, a penalty of ₹1.8 crore was imposed on the Ludhiana MC for failure to manage solid waste, but it has not been paid till now. Last month, seven members of a family, including five children, living near the main landfill on Tajpur Road in Ludhiana had died after their shanty caught fire. Following the incident, the NGT had slapped a notice on the Punjab government.
The tribunal, in the notice issued to Punjab chief secretary, had asked for reasons that led to the failure of the state apparatus in preventing the fire and why accountability of the state not be fixed under Section 15 of the NGT Act. The green body had said that there appears to be a failure on the part of the authorities in remediating the garbage dump site, as per the rules and the right of a citizen to have access to clean environment.
An NGT panel, led by justice Jasbir Singh (retd), had also met deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik and municipal corporation commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal among other officials to discuss the accumulation 20 tonnes of legacy waste at the landfill in Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). In Ludhiana, around 1,100 tonnes of garbage is generated daily and dumped on the landfill. As per civic body officials, fires erupt at the main dump site due to generation of highly combustible methane gas amid high temperatures.