NGT slams 10 lakhs penalty on paper mill for causing pollution

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) slammed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on a paper mill, based in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh for causing pollution and extracting ground water illegally.

A bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, NGT chairperson, also directed a committee formed by it to assess the actual compensation within and asked the unit to deposit the amount with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which will be used for restoration of the environment.

The green panel asked the committee to inspect whether stiffness of the water (amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium) in the area is due to contamination or other reasons.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Ram Sharan, a resident of Sitapur seeking against J B Daruka Paper Limited for discharging untreated water contaminating the groundwater, which has resulted deaths of numerous animals. The mill also emits black smoke causing severe air pollution, the plea added.

The order came after the committee, comprising CPCB and state pollution control board, informed it about several violations including one bore well being installed without any permission.

According to the reported plea, “There is illegal extraction of ground water. Even though compliance of norms of water quality was shown, such compliance was doubtful. There is no flow meter for recycling of the effluent.”

The committee also recommended that the unit should install acoustic enclosure and adequate stack height in all diesel generator sets and it should expedite to obtain No Objection Certificate (NoC) from Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) for ground water extraction.