Punjab's all 163 urban local bodies fined for violating pollution norms

Aman Sood
Patiala, May 2

Acting tough, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has slapped a penalty on all 163 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Punjab for failing to comply with the directions of the National Green Tribunal on solid waste management.

Not even a single municipal corporation or municipal council was able to fully comply with the norms defined by the NGT under its Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, as per a PPCB report. The ULBs were fined Rs 35.26 crore as “environmental compensation” for the period from April 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022.

A senior PPCB official said the industrial hubs of Ludhiana and Jalandhar were found to be the worst performers as “too many lapses” were detected during on-spot inspections. The NGT rules suggest that “no person should throw, burn or bury solid waste on streets, in open public spaces or outside building premises or dump it in drains or water bodies”. The rules mandate segregation of waste as dry and wet at source itself for its better management at trenching grounds.

The local bodies were found dumping biodegradable waste at dump-yards. They should have set up facilities on their own to collect and process waste, said officials in a report.

PPCB Member Secretary Karunesh Garg confirmed the penalty and said the urban local bodies had been asked to complete pending work at the earliest