Tribune News Service
Deepender Deswal
Sirsa on March 29
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has imposed a Rs 16 crore penalty on the Mandi Dwali Municipal Council of Sirsa district. This is for violating solid waste management rules.
NGT’s direction to impose penalty
The NGT has issued directions to impose penalty on the non-complying polluting units and levy compensation on the principle of “polluter pays” to recover environment compensation for the restoration of the environmental damage caused.
Not aware of HSPCB Order
I am not aware of the order of the HSPCB, so I don’t know about the penalty. We have complied to the Pollution Control Act in the city. Surender Singh, Executive Officer of MC
I had to approach NGT
I complained to authorities, but nobody took notice of the matter so I approached NGT. — Vinod Kumar Bansal, Complainant
To avoid any further legal action, the HSPCB has ordered the MC to deposit Rs 16.01 Cr with the HSPCB within 15 days.
The HSPCB’s regional office submitted an environment compensation report against MC Mandi Dabwali via letter number 3678 dated March 24, 2017. It stated that the HSPCB inspected the town and found that MC Mandi Dabwali was disposing of solid refuse at the main dumping area and that he was not complying with the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. “So, the MC is liable to pay environmental compensation as per the policy of the board”, the order stated.
The Environment Compensation Assessment Committee reviewed the case on March 24 and imposed the penalty for violating the Environment Act. “The ECAC has considered the violation for 1,826 days (for about five years) from August 28, 2014 to August 27, 2019”, it added.
Vinod K. Bansal, MC member, claimed that he had filed a complaint to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), because the entire town was littered with trash. “I complained to the authorities but when nobody took note of the matter I approached the NGT”, he said.
The NGT has issued directions to impose the penalty on the non-complying polluting units and levy compensation on the principle of “polluter pays” to recover environment compensation for the restoration of the environmental damage caused. The HSPCH used the CPCB’s methodology to assess, impose, collect and use environment compensation from polluting Haryana units.
Surender Singh, the Executive Officer of MC, stated that the case was pending before the NGT, but he wasn’t aware of the penalty. Surender Singh, the Executive Officer of the MC, stated that they had complied to the Pollution Control Act in the Town.
