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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on July 5 directed Amar Color Chem India, a chemical unit located in Amritsar, to pay an interim environmental compensation of Rs 1 crore to the Punjab State Pollution Control Board (PSPCB) within two months.
The final compensation for past violations would be determined by PSPCB in the light of the observations made in reports. It would do so after collecting the entire information and giving an opportunity to all concerned parties, including the unit, to be heard within three months, the order said.
The compensation would be used for various environmental management programmes in the area. An action plan needs to be prepared for the environmental management activities, timeline and budget estimate for each action, the court said.
For preparation of the environmental management programme, the tribunal directed the constitution of a joint committee comprising the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), PSPCB and Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar. The committee would prepare a plan within three months and execute the same within the next six months.
The NGT also directed the constitution of a high-powered committee. The high-powered committee was entrusted with the task to visit the industrial site and see if any violation of environmental laws and norms was still being committed and submit a report to the PSPCB. In case of any violation, the SPCB has been directed to close the unit till the time all the violations were removed.
The unit is a manufacturer of various textile dyes and lumps and was established in 1996.
During inspection, the effluent treatment plant (ETP) was not found functional, meaning thereby, hazardous effluent was being discharged openly, causing damage to the environment. The court was also informed that the unit has operated time and again despite closure orders or revocation of consent. The unit was also extracting groundwater without any permission.
Authorities in Jharkhand in charge of checking illegal mining were directed by the NGT "to show what action has been taken against illegal miners" in Central Surunga Paharigora of Dhanbad district.
Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) stated that it was the responsibility of the state authorities to check illegal mining.
The next hearing of the case shall be held on August 22, 2024.
The matter relates to several illegal coal mines operating in Central Surunga Paharigora, which belongs to Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), and Coal India Ltd. The stand of the BCCL (Bharat Coking Coal Ltd) was that it had only the leasehold right but no surface right over the area where illegal mining was alleged to have been carried out.
The counsel representing BCCL submitted that since it has only leasehold right and not surface right, BCCL cannot carry out any mining in the area.
This aspect has not been addressed by the MoEF&CC or by state respondents, government of Jharkhand in their affidavit, the court pointed out.
Therefore, the tribunal directed MoEF&CC and the state respondents on July 3 to file affidavits in reply to the affidavit dated September 4, 2023 which was filed by BCCL.
The eastern bench of the NGT on July 4, 2024, reprimanded the district magistrate of Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal for non-compliance of the court order passed on August 1, 2022, for restoration of a waterbody in Baidyadanga in the district.
The court directed the district magistrate to file a personal affidavit showing why action should not be taken against the authority. The counsel for the district magistrate was granted four weeks time to file a reply.
The NGT order of August 1, 2022, had directed the district magistrate, Purba Bardhaman to remove the encroachments and restore the waterbody to its original form and also remove water hyacinth.
"Non-compliance of the order of the Tribunal under the garb that the matter is pending before the West Bengal Land and Land Reforms Tribunal is a deliberate disobedience of the directions attracting the provisions of Section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010," the NGT order stated.