Punjab and Haryana High Court orders Punjab to deposit Rs 12 crore within 2 days
Just over a month after directing the state of Punjab to deposit Rs 12 crore as security for implementing suggestions by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Punjab and Haryana High Court has warned of an additional Rs 1 crore per day for further delay. The warning came as Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj set a two-day deadline for depositing the amount in a case concerning the functioning and maintenance of sewage treatment plants (STPs).
“The core question and concern before this court is that the environment degradation is not escalated any further due to untreated sewage being discharged in open areas and that too adjacent to the schools and other places of eminence,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction with a status report filed in the matter on the state’s behalf by IAS officer and Administrative Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayat, Dilraj Singh. The court asserted it was nothing more than “just another memorandum” with no timelines and no conviction towards redressing the problem.
“The same is prima facie eyewash and fails to satisfy this court at this stage. Let a proper compliant report of the measures taken by the respondent-state of Punjab to eradicate the problem be filed before the court on or before the next date of hearing,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted.
The matter initially brought to the court’s notice pertained to the discharge of untreated sewage/sludge around a school in a village. Justice Bhardwaj, during the course of hearing, observed: “A larger issue has, however, been raised by the senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners that there is a huge deficit in the requirement of the STPs required to be installed/functioning in the state of Punjab as against the total affluent discharge in the municipal/rural areas.”
Justice Bhardwaj, during the resumed hearing, asserted that the amount directed to be deposited with the Registrar-General vide order dated August 28 had not deposited.
The court also rejected the state’s request to deposit the amount in an escrow account, stating it was devoid of merit. The intervention was necessary due to the “abysmal failure” of the operation and maintenance contractor, with faecal content reaching up to 90 lakh units per 100 ml, well beyond the permissible limit of 1,000 units per 100 ml.
“Thus, the contention of the respondent-state to keep this in an escrow account for payment to the operations and maintenance contractor is declined at this stage. In fact, this court is ex-facie of the opinion that an investigation needs to be conducted into the conduct of the ‘O&M’ operations and the payments that have been released to them notwithstanding that the STPs were not compliant of the norms and they have not been commissioned as per the prescribed standards,” the court added.
