Government institutions in Chandigarh fail to pay green fine slapped by panel

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, December 28

Despite directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a number of government institutions have failed to pay environmental compensation imposed on these for flouting solid waste and sewage management norms.

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) has so far imposed a total environmental compensation of Rs 282 crore on various government and private institutions for the violation of rules, but none of the government departments has deposited the amount so far. The process of recovering compensation from private institutions is going on, said an official of the CPCC.

In response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha about the states penalised by the NGT for non-implementation of solid waste and sewage treatment norms, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, stated that the NGT had levied a total environmental compensation of Rs 282 crore for violations till May 18, 2023, on various institutions in Chandigarh.

The NGT, in the matter related to Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and other environmental issues had directed for the levy of environmental compensation on states and Union Territories in order to address the acknowledged gaps in solid and liquid waste generation and treatment.

The NGT recently allowed the UT Administration to set aside an amount of Rs 282 crore for solid and liquid waste management, instead of levying environmental compensation. During the hearing, the Administration had submitted that there was no need to levy compensation on Chandigarh as it had allocated requisite funds and works were in progress for management of solid and liquid waste in the city. To bridge the waste generation and treatment gaps, the MC has ring-fenced Rs 282 crore from its funds.

An official said many departments had removed the shortcomings. The Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, had set up an effluent treatment plant (ETP) and a sewage treatment plant (STP).

He said they would start the process to recover compensation from the departments that have now complied with the rules. The collection of compensation from private institutions was going on. The Berkeley complex has also paid the compensation amount. The unit was slapped an environmental compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh under the orders of the NGT.

Earlier, the CPCC had imposed a penalty of over Rs 16 crore as environmental compensation on three top government health institutions in UT — the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGI); Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32; and the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16 — for failing to treat wastewater and for discharging untreated sewage into the drains of the Municipal Corporation since 2019.

This action was taken on the directions of the NGT for non-compliance with the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The institutions have been found releasing liquid hospital waste and sewage without treatment at the sewage treatment plant (STP) and effluent treatment plant (ETP).

The committee had imposed a fine of Rs 5.63 crore on the PGI for violating the norms from February 19, 2019, to March 31, 2023; Rs 5.62 crore on the GMCH-32 for violations from February 19, 2019, to March 28, 2023; and Rs 5.62 crore on the GMSH-16 for violations from February 19, 2019, to March 28, 2023.

As per the NGT directions, the violators should strictly follow the norms prescribed under Acts and rules, and environmental compensation be imposed as penalty on these to neutralise the damage caused to the pristine environment and fragile ecosystem. A special committee at the UT level shall utilise the Environmental Compensation Fund especially towards neutralising the damage caused.

The CPCC had also imposed a penalty of Rs 2.89 crore on the railway station and Rs 1.74 crore on the Central Reserve Police Force for violating the NGT norms and causing damage to the environment.

The committee had found the railway station releasing wastewater into pits, instead of the MC sewerage. Also, no ETP and STP had been set up on the premises. Similarly, the CRPF campus at Hallo Majra was found releasing wastewater into the storm water drainage, which finally opened into Sukhna Choe.

The CPCC had levied fines of Rs 9.3 crore and Rs 2.7 crore on the Municipal Corporation and the Engineering Department, respectively, for flouting environmental norms from 2020 to 2022.

An environmental compensation of Rs 5.60 crore was imposed on the MC as the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels of the STPs under the MC were not being complied with. However, now the corporation has upgraded its STPs. Apart from this, environmental compensation of Rs 3 crore was imposed on the corporation for failing to manage and process solid waste. Similarly, an additional compensation of Rs 70 lakh was also imposed on it for failing to bio-treat old waste piled up at a 20-acre dump site.

Amount will be utilised to neutralise damage

As per the NGT directions, the violators should strictly follow the norms prescribed under Acts and rules. A special committee at the UT level shall utilise the Environmental Compensation Fund especially towards neutralising the damage caused to the pristine environment and fragile ecosystem.