File compliance report or face litigation cost: High Court to PPCB
The Punjab and Haryana High Court took a serious note of the lackadaisical approach of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) officials in filing a compliance report in a case between the Punjab Dyers Association (PDA) and GS Majithia, member secretary of the board.
In the orders issued on October 19, the HC has said if the compliance report was not filed by the PPCB within the stipulated period, the official concerned of the board will join the proceedings through videoconferencing and would be liable to pay litigation cost to the petitioner to the tune of Rs 50,000 from his/her own pocket. The next date of the hearing in the case is November 20.
The association while constructing the CETP had provided a bank guarantee of Rs 4.5 crore to the PPCB for claiming the Centre’s subsidy. The bank guarantee was supposed to be returned to the association after the plant became operational.
The 50-MLD CETP was ready on June 22, 2022, and the Chief Minister had inaugurated it. But despite repeated efforts made by the PDA, the bank guarantee was not returned by the PPCB. Seeing no other option, the dyers had moved the court to get back the same.
In the High Court, the PPCB claimed that if the association provides the board an undertaking, the bank guarantee would be returned. After which, the court directed the PPCB to provide details of the undertaking to the dyers within a week and also directed the PDA to submit the undertaking within next 15 days. But even after passing of one month, the board failed to provide the details of the undertaking to the association. Sore over the lackadaisical approach of the board, the PDA again went to the court for claiming the bank guarantee, following which the latest orders were passed by the HC.
