NGT imposes Rs 5 lakh fine on KMC and MPCB

KOLHAPUR: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on March 13, 2019, for failing to stop pollution on Rankala Lake.

The court asked both the agencies to deposit the ‘environment compensation’ amount to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within 15 days. It also asked KMC to deposit performance guarantee of Rs 50 lakh to comply with works proposed to stop pollution of the lake.

The NGT imposed the penalty after hearing a petition filed by activist Sunil Kemble. He said in his petition that KMC has failed to address pollution of the lake.

R K Patil, deputy engineer of KMC said that the details of compliance will be presented to the tribunal in the next hearing with request to not impose a fine on KMC. He informed the bench that works like commissioning sewage treatment plant and diversion of drain are completed. The KMC officials said that KMC gets lake water samples tested regularly and these tests show that the water quality has improved.

Kemble said that several steps have been taken after the petition was filed two years back. The efforts need to be speeded up to ensure permanent safety of the lake, he added.