Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in Supreme Court, high courts & National Green Tribunal
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) March 15, 2024 directed the constitution of a joint committee to assess the quantum of damage suffered by people whose residential structures developed cracks / damage at Nai Basti in Thathri area, Doda district, Jammu & Kashmir.
“Thereafter, award 50 per cent (since the state has also admitted that some part of the fault also lies with the affected parties meaning thereby a case of contributory negligence has been pleaded) of the amount assessed as compensation, to the affected persons. District Magistrate, Doda would be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance,” the order said.
The Joint Committee needs to make the assessment within three months and, thereafter, payment of compensation as directed should be made within two months.
NGT observed that constructions were made by certain persons on a land which was earlier marked as shamlat land (village pasture land).
“It is true that the land did not belong to the occupants who raised their residential houses over the land in question but the fact remains that this could happen due to ignorance or deliberate or passive permission of the authorities concerned, who were responsible for looking after the said land and to ensure that no person unauthorizedly or illegally occupy the same,” NGT noted.
“We are not approving the unauthorised or illegal possession obtained by the affected persons but the fact remains that they could raise constructions of their residential structure on account of the lack of discharge of duties and responsibilities by the state authorities,” the bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Sudhir Agarwal said.
The court blamed state authorities for soil slippage that has damaged structures of poor people.
The fact remains that by raising construction on the land in question without proper examination with respect to geotechnical assessment such as soil bearing test ecological damage has been caused, which has resulted in the soil slipping and damage to the residential structures of the affected persons, the court noted.
Two miners, Danish Yousuf and Rauf Ahmad, involved in illegal mining activities in Budgam district of Jammu & Kashmir, were directed to pay an interim environmental compensation (EC) of Rs 7,46,400 and Rs 8,33,520 by NGT.
The EC has to be deposited within two months with the Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) and the said amount should be subject to final computation of environmental compensation by JKPCC, the order said.
The amount of environmental compensation should be used for remediation / rejuvenation / restoration of the environment in the said area on the basis of a rejuvenation plan, which must be prepared jointly by JKPCC and collector, Budgam.
Besides environmental compensation, JKPCC should also take other prohibitive and punitive action against the miners and remedial action for rejuvenation and restoration of the damage caused to the environment.
The miners were directed to stop mining activities pursuant to ECs dated July 6, 2021 forthwith and compliance of the NGT judgment has to be carried out by the statutory regulators – JKPCC and District Magistrate, Budgam, March 15 order stated.
As much as 435.5 million litres of sewage is generated in Assam per day but only 413.11 MLD is treated daily. To mitigate the gap, 340.5 MLD sewage treatment capacity has been planned, the Assam government mentioned in a compliance report submitted to NGT.
15 MLD of sewage is being bio remediated at Silsako Beel before release into Brahmaputra by GMDA, while 7.59 MLD sewage is present which is generated in the hospitals, hotels, apartments in Guwahati city and is being treated in-situ, the report noted.
Construction of faecal sludge and septage management plants in 32 urban local bodies of capacity of 352 KLD each was taken up with technical assistance from UNICEF. Rs 39.11 crore has been earmarked by the 15th Financ Commission for the same.
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