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Judgment
Grievance in this application is against unscientific dumping of solid waste on forest land. Vide order dated 15.04.2019, a factual and action taken report was sought from the District Magistrate and the District Forest Officer, Pithoragarh. The report filed on 12.09.2019 is to the effect that proposal for preparing DPR is pending with the Administration. It is further stated that bio-degradable garbage is being buried in the dump yard and non-degradable is being separated and sent to Encholi, 10 kms away from the dumping yard through a contractor. The report shows unsatisfactory state of affairs in violation of mandate of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The matter was considered on 26.06.2020 in the light of the report dated 17.10.2019 and the Tribunal found as follows:-
"2. Accordingly, a further report has been filed by the Secretary, Urban Department, State of Uttarakhand inter alia stating as follows:
"5. That in compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, DPR costing Rs.636.99 Lakh was prepared and approved by State Government and Central Government and the status of the same is as follows:-
I. That (35% share of Rs.222.95 Lakhs) by Central Government was approved and Rs.111.47 Lakh is released to State Government by Government of India vide letter No.1/18/2015-SBM, dated 19.9.2019.
II. That the request had already been sent by the Directorate of Urban Development to the State Government vide letter No.3050/4/2015-16 (Vol-H) dated 18.10.2019.
III. That funds shall be released soon from State Government and accordingly tender process shall be initiated by the Nagar Palika Parishad, Pithoragarh.
IV. That as soon as tenders process is completed regarding the work of Solid Waste Management Plant, Pithoragarh, and will be functional and operational prepared till 31-03-2021."
Though it is stated that the waste management plant will be functional 31.03.2021, nothing is mentioned about the allegation of dumping of garbage in forest. It has to be ensured that the dumping of garbage does not take place in forest land as alleged.
Let further action be taken and progress report as on 31.10.2020 be filed by 15.11.2020 at [email protected] preferably in the form of searchable PDF/ OCR Support PDF and not in the form of Image PDF."
The matter was last considered on 16.04.2021 in light of report of the State of Uttarakhand dated 02.03.2021 and it was found that there was continued violation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 including the timelines laid down in the orders of this Tribunal and the statutory rules.
The observations of this Tribunal are reproduced below:
"4. From the above, it is seen that even though there is continued violation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 including the timelines laid down as well as specific order of this Tribunal dated 28.02.2020 in O.A. No. 606/2018 requiring crediting of compensation for damage to the environment on account of delay in taking action, the compliance thereof is not shown. The said direction is reproduced below for ready reference:
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In view of above, consistent with the directions referred to in Para 29 issued on 10.01.2020 in the case of UP, Punjab and Chandigarh which have also been repeated for other States in matters already dealt with, we direct:
a. In view of the fact that most of the statutory timelines have expired and directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and this Tribunal to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 remain unexecuted, interim compensation scale is hereby laid down for continued failure after 31.03.2020. The compliance of the Rules requires taking of several steps mentioned in Rule 22 from Serial No. 1 to 10 (mentioned in para 12 above). Any such continued failure will result in liability of every Local Body to pay compensation at the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per month per Local Body for population of above 10 lakhs, Rs. 5 lakh per month per Local Body for population between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs and Rs. 1 lakh per month per other Local Body from 01.04.2020 till compliance. If the Local Bodies are unable to bear financial burden, the liability will be of the State Governments with liberty to take remedial action against the erring Local Bodies. Apart from compensation, adverse entries must be made in the ACRs of the CEO of the said Local Bodies and other senior functionaries in Department of Urban Development etc. who are responsible for compliance of order of this Tribunal. Final compensation may be assessed and recovered by the State PCBs /PCCs in the light of Para 33 above within six months from today. CPCB may prepare a template and issue an appropriate direction to the State PCBs/PCCs for undertaking such an assessment in the light thereof within one month.
b. Legacy waste remediation was to 'commence' from 01.11.2019 in terms of order of this Tribunal dated 17.07.2019 in O.A. No. 519/2019 para 28 The Chief Secretaries may ensure allocation of funds for processing of legacy waste and its disposal and in their respective next reports, give the progress relating to management of all the legacy waste dumpsites. Remediation work on all other dumpsites may commence from 01.11.2019 and completed preferably within six months and in no case beyond one year. Substantial progress be made within six months. We are conscious that the SWM Rules provide for a maximum period of upto five years for the purpose, however there is no reason why the same should not happen earlier, in view of serious implications on the environment and public health. even though statutory timeline for 'completing' the said step is till 07.04.2021 (as per serial no. 11 in Rule 22), which direction remains unexecuted at most of the places and delay in clearing legacy waste is causing huge damage to environment in monetary terms as noted in para 33 above, pending assessment and recovery of such damage by the concerned State PCB within four months from today, continued failure of every Local Body on the subject of commencing the work of legacy waste sites remediation from 01.04.2020 till compliance will result in liability to pay compensation at the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per month per Local Body for population of above 10 lakhs, Rs. 5 lakh per month per Local Body for population between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs and Rs. 1 lakh per month per other Local Body. If the Local Bodies are unable to bear financial burden, the liability will be of the State Governments with liberty to take remedial action against the erring Local Bodies. Apart from compensation, adverse entries must be made in the ACRs of the CEO of the said Local Bodies and other senior functionaries in Department of Urban Development etc. who are responsible for compliance of order of this Tribunal. Final compensation may be assessed and recovered by the State PCBs/PCCs in the light of Para 33 above within six months from today.
c. Further, with regard to thematic areas listed above in para 20, steps be ensured by the Chief Secretaries in terms of directions of this Tribunal especially w.r.t. plastic waste, bio-medical waste, construction and demolition waste which are linked with solid waste treatment and disposal. Action may also be ensured by the Chief Secretaries of the States/UTs with respect to remaining thematic areas viz. hazardous waste, e-waste, polluted industrial clusters, reuse of treated water, performance of CETPs/ETPs, groundwater extraction, groundwater recharge, restoration of water bodies, noise pollution and illegal sand mining.
d. The compensation regime already laid down for failure of the Local Bodies and/or Department of Irrigation and Public Health/In-charge Department to take action for treatment of sewage in terms of observations in Para 36 above will result in liability to pay compensation as already noted above which are reproduced for ready reference:
i. Interim measures for phytoremediation/ bioremediation etc. in respect of 100% sewage to reduce the pollution load on recipient water bodies - 31.03.2020. Compensation is payable for failure to do so at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per month per drain by concerned Local Bodies/States (in terms of orders dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No. 593/2017 and 06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018) w.e.f. 01.04.2020.
ii. Commencement of setting up of STPs - 31.03.2020. Compensation is payable for failure to do so at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per month per STP by concerned Local Bodies/States (in terms of orders dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No. 593/2017 and 06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018) w.e.f. 01.04.2020.
iii. Commissioning of STPs - 31.03.2021. Compensation is payable for failure to do so at the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per month per STP by concerned Local Bodies/States (in terms of orders dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No. 593/2017 and 06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018) w.e.f. 01.04.2021.
e. Compensation in above terms may be deposited with the CPCB for being spent on restoration of environment which may be ensured by the Chief Secretaries of the States/UTs.
f. An 'Environment Monitoring Cell' may be set up in the office of Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs within one month from today, if not already done for coordination and compliance of above directions which will be the responsibility of the Chief Secretaries of the States/UTs.
g. Compliance reports in respect of significant environmental issues may be furnished in terms of order dated 07.01.2020 quarterly with a copy to CPCB."
Vide order dated 14.12.2020 in O.A. No. 606/2018, Compliance of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental issues, further direction issued is as follows:-
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The compensation in terms of earlier order be recovered and credited to a separate account with the Environment Department of the States/UTs to be used for restoration of environment in the concerned States/UTs. The deposit, instead of being made with the CPCB, may now be made to the said account."
The report is incomplete as it is not clear whether there dumping of solid waste is in forest land or elsewhere and how the waste is handled. The new proposed site needs to be developed in an integrated manner to have adequate capacity for waste processing and for material recovery. There is also no mention of legacy waste stored. SPCB may technically assist the local body and ensure complete report is filed before next date of hearing.
The order of the Tribunal is binding as a decree and violation is also criminal offence under section 26 of the NGT Act, 2010. It is a matter of regret that in the State of Uttrakhand there is rampant violation of directions of this Tribunal as shown by the report in present case as well as in EA No. 22/2020 and O.A. No. 144/2019 listed today. This is hardly conducive to the Rule of law and protection of public health.
Accordingly, we direct the Chief Secretary of Uttarkhand to ensure that remedial action is taken, which may include compliance of rules, recovery of compensation and coercive action against erring officers."
In pursuance of above, a status report dated 05.10.2021 has been filed by the State of Uttarakhand as follows:
"3. That in compliance of the abovementioned directions passed by this Hon'ble Tribunal, a Status Report by way of Affidavit had already been submitted on 3rd August, 2021 and the same had been uploaded on the website of this Hon'ble Tribunal on 5th August, 2021. That after submission of the abovesaid report dated 3rd August, 2021, the State of Uttarakhand took further steps in compliance of the directions passed by this Hon'ble Tribunal:-
Sr.
No.
Related to Detailed Project Report / DPR
of SWM, Pithoragarh
Status as per 04.10.2021
1.
As per SWM Rules 2016, DPR Costing Rs.
636.99 Lakh prepared and approved by State Government and Central Government
Central Government's Share of 35% of Rs. 222.95 Lakh approved and Rs. 111.47 lakh released to State Government by Government of India vide letter no. 1/18/2015-SBM, dated 19.9.2019.
Rs.414.04 lakhs as state share (65% of project cost) has been released to ULB for implementation of SWM proposed plant.
Land for "Solid Waste Processing And Disposal Site" has been procured. Now
as per the statutory provision, for "Environmental Clearance" of the project, tendering process has been completed, work order hasbeen issued for Environment Impact Assessment process and, accordingly implementation of "Processing and Disposal Plant" shall be initiated after approval of EIA, EC & CTE. This may take another 4-5 months.
2.
Activities related to Plastic Ban and
implementation of "Uttarakhand Anti Littering and Anti Spitting Act 2017"
Rs. 2.30 Lacs recovered as fine from violators, as per the provisions of "Plastic Ban" violators.
Rs. 1.24 Lacs recovered as fine from violators, as per the provisions of "Uttarakhand Anti Littering and Anti Spitting Act 2017".
3.
Present Status of Solid Waste Management in Pithoragarh
Total Population of Pithoragarh is 62502 as per 2011 Census,12.19 sq. km is the Urban Area and there are 20 Wards and total waste generation is 24 MTPD (Metric Ton Per Day) and 12.7 MTPD is being processed using OWC (Organic Waste Convertor Machine), 12 decentralized Organic Pits additional 6 pits are in construction, two Sanitary Disposal bins are installed there, and 11.3 MTPD (Metric Ton Per Day) plastic waste is being processed through Plastic Compactor.
There are total 10500 households and 1763
Commercial/Shops/Institutions, total 16717, and 100% door to door collection is being done in 16717
households and shops. Around 50% source segregation is also being done.
0.75 Hec land has been arranged in Nainipatal by Nagar Palika Parishad, Pithoragarh for SWM treatment and disposal purpose and the revenue land has been transferred to Nagar Palika Parishad, Pithoragarh for SWM treatment and disposal purpose.
At present ULB is disposing MSW using 03 Auto Tipper, 02 Pickup
Van, 01 Tipper Truck and one JCB with the help of 200 Sanitation Staff.
Plastic is being Segregated from MSW and is being Compacted using Plastic Compactor, about 225 Ton of Compacted Plastic has been disposed.
Segregated Vegetable/ fruits waste/ Organic Waste 'is being disposed using OWC (Organic Waste Convertor) of capacity 1 Ton per day, and rest is being disposed on the disposal site. Compost prepared using above machine is being utilized by Nagar Palika Parishad Pithoragarh in their own parks and ground.
Three separate vehicles are engaged for IEC activities related to SWM for "Source segregation and Door to Door collection"
Regular directions/ orders are being issued from Urban Development Directorate, Uttarakhand to all the ULBs (including Nagar Palika Parishad, Pithoragarh) for implementation of SWM Rules 2016, Rule 22 as per the directions passed by Hon'ble National Green Tribunal passed in OA No. 606/ 2018.
4.
Legacy Waste: Treatment and Disposal
The total quantity of legacy waste is 31500 Cu.m, DPR cost of Rs. 1.558 Cr has been submitted by ULB vide letter No. 676/772 /SWM /NGT/168 of 2019 dated 21.06.2021.
Further the proposal for remediation of legacy waste has been submitted to Government of Uttarakhand vide letter No. 676/772/SWM/NGT/168 of 2019 dated 05.07.2021.
DPR for Legacy Waste of Rs. 1.527 Cr. has been approved by Urban Development Department, Uttarakhand vide Minutes of the Meeting Dt: 13-8-2021 and directions have been issued for the financial arrangement also.
Tendering processing will be completed within 21 days and work is targeted and expected to be completed within next 5-6 months.
That the present Status Report by way of Affidavit, is submitted with regard to the steps taken after 3rd August, 2021 and till 4th October, 2021 in compliance of direction passed by this Hon'ble Tribunal, and is being filed on behalf of State of Uttarakhand for kind perusal of this Hon'ble Tribunal. The present Status Report may be treated part of the Status Report submitted on 3rd August, 2021 and the same may be taken alongwith abovesaid Status Report submitted on 3rd August, 2021 and uploaded on 5th August, 2021."
The report of the State PCB dated 04.08.2021 is as follows:
"1. The population of Nagar Palika Parisad, Pithoragarh is 62502 and divided in to 20 municipal wards.
About 28 MT solid wastes is generated per day. Generated waste is not segregated as bio-degradable and non-biodegradable.
Nagar Palika Parisad has started door- to-door collection and pits for vermi composting are made. Collected solid waste is disposed at dumping site located about 9 Km from Pithoragrh town at Nainipatal (Pithoragarh-Dharchula Highway).
Said solid waste dump site is not developed scientifically and collected bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes are being dumped at this site.
Nagar Palika Parisad has established waste compactor machine, compost machine and granual machin at Ancholi, however, these machines were found non-operational
As per inspection report, it is evident that the Nagar Palika Parisad, Pithoragarh is not complying with provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rule, 2016, therefore, based on above observation and in compliance of the Hon'ble NGT order dated 16.04.2021, the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board is in the process of issuing directions under section-5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parisad, Pithoragarh for ensuring compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which include imposition of an environmental compensation in pursuance of the Hon'ble NGT order."
Though in similar matter in O.A. No. 144/2019, a report has been filed. The said report only deals with Compliance status at Kotdwar and not at Pithoragarh with which we are concerned in the present matter. In the said matter, the Tribunal observed:
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Moreover, there is no mention for the payment of compensation for restoration of environment and action against erring officers, in terms of orders of this Tribunal quoted earlier. Learned Counsel for the State has no explanation for such non-compliance inspite of directions in the last order.
We, thus, note with disappointment the attitude of the State in not adhering to the rule of law in complying with the specific directions of this Tribunal and for failing to comply with the statutory mandate of waste management rules, having statutory timelines, violation of which is criminal offence.
Let the Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand now take further stringent remedial action consistent with the spirit of the orders already passed and the present order, in accordance with law."
In the present matter also, the above observations have to be repeated as the situation is identical. Accordingly, we direct the Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand to take stringent further remedial action with regard to the violations in managing the waste in District Pithoragarh on the same pattern.
The application is disposed of.
A copy of this order be sent to Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand by e-mail for compliance.