NGT showcauses Bargarh collector over delay in treating legacy waste
Cuttack: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a showcause notice to the Bargarh district collector for the delay in complying with the directions issued in 2023 to enable Bargarh Municipality to tackle the legacy waste the civic body dumped over 1.59 acres of land for 10-15 years.
NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata, comprising Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member), in its order on Feb 12, said, “District collector, Bargarh, Odisha shall explain as to why action should not be taken against him under Section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.”
Initially, Ramakanta Rout and six other residents of Purushotam Nagar in ward 15 under Bargarh Municipality filed a petition seeking intervention against keeping about 51,476 metric tonnes of garbage dumped at a site near their locality for years.
On March 23, 2023, the tribunal disposed of the petition with a slew of directions, including one to the state govt to immediately deposit Rs 1.84 crore in an escrow account to be utilised for the remediation measures for treatment of the legacy waste as well as bio-mining and all other measures as may be required for Bargarh Municipality.
The petitioners filed a fresh application after an inspection report of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) on Jan 8, indicated that none of the NGT’s orders were complied with.
Making submissions on behalf of the petitioners in virtual mode, advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy sought the initiation of criminal proceedings against the authorities concerned. They placed before the bench the inspection report claimed to have been obtained through an RTI application.
Taking the report on record, the bench said the “matter requires consideration” and also issued notices to the state govt, executive officer of Bargarh Municipality and OSPCB, seeking affidavits from them within four weeks. The case has been scheduled for the next hearing on March 19.
NGT had directed the Bargarh Municipality to ensure complete treatment of legacy waste through bio-mining/micro composting centres/material recovery facilities by Dec 31, 2023. On the civic body’s proposal for setting up five sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 125 KLD at five different locations in the municipal area, the tribunal directed the STPs to be installed and made operational by Dec 31, 2023.
NGT observed that the legacy waste dump sites resulted in huge damage to the environment and population in the vicinity, who suffered in terms of safety, health and comfort. Accordingly, one-third of the land occupied by legacy dump sites (on reclamation) needs to be reserved for dense forest and in the process of afforestation for compensating them for such damage, CAMPA funds can be utilised in accordance with provisions of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Act, 2016, the tribunal said in its March 2023 order.
NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata, comprising Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member), in its order on Feb 12, said, “District collector, Bargarh, Odisha shall explain as to why action should not be taken against him under Section 26 of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.”
Initially, Ramakanta Rout and six other residents of Purushotam Nagar in ward 15 under Bargarh Municipality filed a petition seeking intervention against keeping about 51,476 metric tonnes of garbage dumped at a site near their locality for years.
On March 23, 2023, the tribunal disposed of the petition with a slew of directions, including one to the state govt to immediately deposit Rs 1.84 crore in an escrow account to be utilised for the remediation measures for treatment of the legacy waste as well as bio-mining and all other measures as may be required for Bargarh Municipality.
The petitioners filed a fresh application after an inspection report of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) on Jan 8, indicated that none of the NGT’s orders were complied with.
Making submissions on behalf of the petitioners in virtual mode, advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy sought the initiation of criminal proceedings against the authorities concerned. They placed before the bench the inspection report claimed to have been obtained through an RTI application.
Taking the report on record, the bench said the “matter requires consideration” and also issued notices to the state govt, executive officer of Bargarh Municipality and OSPCB, seeking affidavits from them within four weeks. The case has been scheduled for the next hearing on March 19.
NGT had directed the Bargarh Municipality to ensure complete treatment of legacy waste through bio-mining/micro composting centres/material recovery facilities by Dec 31, 2023. On the civic body’s proposal for setting up five sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 125 KLD at five different locations in the municipal area, the tribunal directed the STPs to be installed and made operational by Dec 31, 2023.
NGT observed that the legacy waste dump sites resulted in huge damage to the environment and population in the vicinity, who suffered in terms of safety, health and comfort. Accordingly, one-third of the land occupied by legacy dump sites (on reclamation) needs to be reserved for dense forest and in the process of afforestation for compensating them for such damage, CAMPA funds can be utilised in accordance with provisions of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Act, 2016, the tribunal said in its March 2023 order.
