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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) November 21, 2024 imposed an interim environmental compensation of Rs 5 crore upon Nectar Life Sciences Ltd. The company has been ordered to deposit the fine with Punjab State Pollution Control Board (PSPCB) within two months.
The court further instructed the PSPCB to ascertain the final sum of environmental compensation by gathering turnover information from the proponent for the specific year when the violations were identified. The PSPCB is to impose the environmental compensation for that period separately, after providing the proponent with a proper hearing opportunity. This must be completed within two months.
The amount of interim compensation as directed should be adjusted in the final amount of environmental compensation to be determined and computed by PSPCB, the order said.
The interim or final environmental compensation should be used for the remediation, rejuvenation or restoration of the damaged environment in the affected area based on a restoration plan prepared by the Joint Committee. This committee will include members from PSPCB, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the District Magistrate of SAS Nagar, Mohali.
The committee would prepare the plan within two months and execute the same within three months after realisation / recovery / deposit of environmental compensation as directed.
PSPCB was also directed to make a periodical inspection commencing from the first week of December 2024 for the next six months of the proponent's unit to ensure strict compliance of environmental laws on the part of proponent.
If it is found that the proponent is still violating environmental laws, PSPCB would exercise its power of issuing directions with regard to closure of the industry till it prepares itself to comply with environmental laws particularly Water Act, 1974, Air Act, 1981 and EP Act, 1986.
On November 5, 2022, Shalabhjeet Singh, a resident of Haibatpur village in Derabassi tehsil, SAS Nagar district, Mohali, submitted a letter of complaint. He alleged that Nectar Life Sciences Limited, a pharmaceutical company in Haibatpur village, was releasing highly polluted chemical waste into the village's agricultural fields, damaging crops and land. The complaint included photographs showing the discharge of polluted effluents in open fields, harming the land, soil, and environment.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was directed by NGT November 21, 2024 to pay environmental compensation of Rs 50 crore for causing water pollution.
NGT said both DJB and MCD were responsible for causing water pollution by permitting sewage of sanitary drains to be discharged in stormwater drain, which ultimately pollute River Yamuna. In addition to defacing and disrupting the storm water drain by constructing four RCC chambers and partitioning, making cleaning and desilting unlikely and impractical, it also poses health risks.
DJB and MCD both have violated the provisions of Water Act, 1974. Thus both are liable to pay environmental compensation by application of ‘polluter pays’ principle. DJB and MCD both shall pay Rs 25,22,79,000 each towards environmental compensation and deposit the same with CPCB within two months, the judgment said.
The judgment was passed by a bench comprising NGT chairperson, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, justices Arun Kumar Tyagi and Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad.
The CPCB, via its authorised officer, must initiate penalty proceedings against the responsible authorities / officers of DJB and MCD for violations under Section 24 read with Section 43 of the Water Act, 1974, and Section 45B of the Water Act, 1974, in conjunction with Rule 3/4 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Manner of Holding Inquiry and Imposition of Penalty) Rules, 2024, and submit a compliance report to the tribunal by January 31, 2025.
The court instructed MCD and DJB to periodically open the covers of stormwater drains along the entire length of the covered drain. This will facilitate easier cleaning and desilting, and also allow gases and foul smells to escape, preventing their accumulation at one spot and avoiding a concentrated release.
This work must be finished within a month, and its outcomes should be evaluated in the following month to determine if it resolves the entire issue. If the measures taken do not solve the problem, MCD will remove the entire four-chambered RCC cover / walls from the stormwater drain along its entire length to restore the drain to its original state, and this should be completed within the next three months.
The amount of environmental compensation realised / recovered from DJB and MCD should be utilised by CPCB for remediation and restoration of environmental damage caused in Delhi in pursuance to a restoration plan prepared by a Joint Committee comprising member secretary, CPCB; member secretary, Delhi Polluion Control Committee (DPCC); Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Delhi, and a representative of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), within a month, and executed in the next two months after realization of environmental compensation.
Member Secretary, CPCB would be the nodal authority for coordination and compliance. CPCB has been directed to submit a compliance report in respect of the direction by February 28, 2025.
An application was filed before the NGT by residents of BLK (North) GK-I RWA who were suffering for the last 25 years due to illegal/unauthorized discharge of untreated sewage in rainwater/storm water drain (Kushak drain) wherein concerned authorities have not provided a cover/lid on the drain touching houses from B-159 to B-187 while rest of the drain (14209.776 m2) has been covered.
The exposed section functions as a chimney-like vent, emitting unpleasant and toxic gases. These gases directly enter the kitchens and bedrooms of the residents, making their lives unbearable every day of the year.
The residents approached various authorities like DJB to stop unauthorized discharge of untreated sewage in storm water drain; Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD to provide lid / cover on the uncovered portion of the drain but nothing has helped them.
It was pointed out that the entire stormwater drain was earlier uncovered and DJB was allowing discharge of untreated sewage from sewerage drains.
In response to the release of harmful and toxic gases, the MCD decided to cover the stormwater drain, resulting in 14,209.776 square metres being covered.
Some non-governmental organisations raised objections regarding covering of storm water drain by instituting proceedings before the tribunal, whereafter further covering of stormwater drain was stopped by the tribunal. Consequently, 1466.11 sq m of the stormwater drain remains uncovered and is currently functioning as a chimney-like outlet, emitting toxic gases that are produced in the covered section of the drain.
A committee that visited the site found that the fumes were unbearable at the Greater Kailash, Andrews Ganj, and Nizamuddin sections of the drain. The amount of debris and solid waste that had accumulated in the concrete boxes designed to channel the flow was worse than ever, making the drain uncontrollably filthy.
On November 3, 2023, the tribunal noted that the DJB had failed to take appropriate action within the timeline to trap and divert the sewage sludge.
The court also observed that although the drain is intended to be a storm water drain, sewage and sludge were allowed to enter it from various locations due to the fault, inaction, or negligence of the DJB and the concerned local body, MCD.