On 20th of September, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud stayed an order which directed the state of Punjab to pay Rs 1026 Crores in compensation to the Central Pollution Control Board. The order was issued by the National Green Tribunal as Pubjab is liable to pay compensation since they were unable to manage legacy waste and untreated sewage. Legacy Waste refers to the waste collected on a barren piece of land or landfill for years without being treated.
The amount of compensation has been calculated on the fines imposed on the Punjab for 6 months for failure in managing 5.37 Million Tonnes of legacy waste and untreated sewage. The Court also paid attention to the fact that the State of Punjab is a repeated offender in this regard as they failed to comply with the orders issued in 2022. The NGT underlined that Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016 and section 15 of Environment (protection) act, 1986 apply in this case.
The order observed that while the state generated 2,212 million litres of waste per day, it still lagged behind by 326.56 MLD in its treatment capacity. Show Cause notice was issued by the tribunal against the Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary of Urban development in Punjab. The matter is now listed before NGT on September 27 for payment of compensation, filing of progress report for action taken in treatment of waste and further proceeding on show cause notices.
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