Pollution board for penalty of Rs 11L from firm for dumping waste in open

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has recommended environmental compensation of Rs 11.22 lakh from the JBM company for dumping garbage in the open area between two canals near Mehrana village and for not disposing of the solid waste in a scientific manner.

Ashish of Ugrakheri village, in his complaint to the NGT, said the JBM Enviro Group has been given the contract for handling, management and disposal of solid waste by the Municipal Corporation (MC) Panipat under the service contract. But the JBM, instead of scientific disposal of the solid waste, was discharging it in an open area between the two canals, which are at a distance of mere 50 feet.

Following the complaint, the NGT constituted a joint committee of District Magistrate, Panipat, and the HSPCB on August 27.

Following the NGT’s order, Deputy Commissioner, Panipat, nominated Braham Prakash, SDM, as his nominee and a joint committee, comprising SDM Braham Prakash and Bhupender Singh Chahal, Regional Officer, HSPCB, inspected the site where solid waste was dumped by the JBM Environment Management Private Limited inthe presence of Chief Sanitary Inspector Jitender Narwal and Ajit Tiwari, representative of the JBM.

During the inspection, it was found that the solid waste dumping started at the site in July last year, while the dumping was stopped in February this year.

The mixed solid waste was found dumped in the open at the site, no boundary wall existed at the solid waste dumping site, open burning of solid waste was also found during the time of inspection carried out by the joint committee.

CSI Narwal, a representative of the MC, said a new site near the sugar mill at Dahar village had been identified as a secondary collection point for the dumping of the solid waste of the MC before the final disposal of waste to the energy plant operating at Murthal village of Sonepat.

In the report, the joint committee found a legacy waste of approximately 360 MT at the site, no segregation of solid waste was done by the JBM, no boundary wall was built by the company, the waste was dumped in a pervious open land and solid waste was causing damage to the upper soil and leachate percolation was through the soil, thus contaminating the groundwater.

Following the joint committee’s observations, the HSPCB served a show-cause notice to JBM Company for the imposition of the penalty for the improper handling and unscientific dumping of solid waste at the site in violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The joint committee recommended environmental compensation of Rs 11.22 lakh upon the JBM, and to dispose of the legacy waste in a scientific manner from the site at the earliest.