New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi government to pay Rs 2,232 crore as environmental compensation for improper waste management.
The tribunal observed that compliance with environmental norms on waste management has to be accorded the priority it deserves and it is high time that the authorities concerned realised their duty to the law in this regard and citizens.
Taking note of a report submitted by the Delhi chief secretary, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice AK Goel said there were gaps in the management of solid and liquid waste in the national capital.
“On the pattern of compensation awarded in respect of other states (at the rate of Rs 2 crore per million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage and Rs 300 per tonne of untreated legacy waste), a compensation of Rs 3,132 crore is liable to be levied on the Delhi government — Rs 990 crore for solid waste and Rs 2,142 crore for liquid waste,” the bench, also comprising judicial members Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, along with expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, said.
Deducting the compensation for solid waste already levied (Rs 900 crore), the remaining amount of Rs 2,232 crore has to be paid by the city government on the “polluter pays” principle, the bench said.
It said the amount has to be used for tackling the “emergent situation prevailing in Delhi, posing danger to the safety of the citizens,” and for remedying the continuing damage to the environment.
“This payment will be the responsibility of the chief secretary, Delhi and the payment be made within one month and credited to a separate ring-fenced account,” it said.
The tribunal had, in October last year, directed the Delhi government to pay Rs 900 crore as environmental compensation, following which the authorities concerned had filed a review petition.
“The issue of emergency situation of failure to tackle legacy waste as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 was earlier considered by this tribunal…whereby liability for compensation for failure to scientifically handle solid waste was determined at Rs 900 crore,” the bench said.
It said the review applications filed by the Delhi government were being disposed of through separate orders and the earlier amount of Rs 900 crore will now have to be paid with the additional amount of Rs 2,232 crore.
“The total amount liable to be paid is Rs 3,132 crore,” the bench said.
It said the Delhi government could formulate a plan to raise the requisite funds from the generators or contributors of waste or by any other legal means.
It said as the situation of non-compliance with the municipal solid waste (MSW) rules remained “untackled” despite monitoring by the Supreme Court for 18 years and by the tribunal for around nine years, the monitoring will now have to be done at the highest level of the Delhi government.
Such a monitoring mechanism has to be on the pattern of the Yamuna Monitoring Committee, envisaging weekly reviews with defined targets and accountability, the tribunal said.
“Accordingly, we constitute a solid waste monitoring committee to be headed by the lieutenant governor of Delhi,” it added.
The committee would also have the chief secretary, the secretaries of various Delhi government and central ministries, the DDA vice-chairman, the director general of forest, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairman, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner and the jurisdictional district magistrates and deputy commissioners of police, the tribunal said.
“The committee will deal with all issues relating to solid waste management, including setting up new waste-processing facilities, augmenting the existing waste-processing facilities and a remediation of the legacy waste sites,” it said.
Regarding liquid waste management, the green panel said the gap in the generation and treatment and utilisation of sewage has to be bridged.
It said the sanctity and significance of natural stormwater drains should be maintained and these drains should not serve as sewage carriers.
Noting that of the 530 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated sewage, 267 MGD is being returned to the Yamuna, the tribunal said the treated sewage has to meet the water quality requirement of the river.
“There is a need to enhance the capacity for utilising treated water. The high-level committee to monitor the rejuvenation of the Yamuna may explore the possibility of hiring bulk users so that treated effluents can be utilised,” the NGT said.
It said sewage (treated or untreated) must be prevented from entering drinking water resources and instead, utilised for non-potable purposes, such as agriculture and industry.
“It is seen that the utilised capacity of sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 632 MGD capacity is only 530 MGD and standards of water quality are not always met. This aspect needs to be looked into on a continuous basis by a centralised mechanism, which may be set up preferably within a month,” the tribunal said.
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