NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of ₹900 crores as environmental compensation for failing in the management of municipal solid waste. NGT noted that “citizens cannot be faced with an emergency situation due to lack of governance.”
NGT bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that around 80 per cent of the legacy waste stored in the landfill sites of Delhi, Gazhipur, Bhalswa and Okhla, has still not been remediated. These landfill sites cumulatively hold 300 lakh metric tonnes of waste.
Apart from Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, A Senthil Vel, Afroz Ahmad and Justice Sudhir Agarwal were also part of the bench that fined the Government of NCT of Delhi. The bench highlighted that the government failed to take measures to prevent groundwater contamination, methane and other hazardous gas emissions and to take safety measures against recurring incidents of fires.
Due to this, the scarcely available public land is being used as dumping site. The NGT said, “the area is 152 acres and its price, even at a conservative rate, is more than ₹10,000 crore at the applicable circle rate and thus the urgency to retrieve the said public asset for beneficial public use.”
The relevant government authorities have not been able to uphold public trust in safeguarding the environment and public health.