Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) is yet to environment compensation (EC) penalties worth ₹39.39 crore imposed on Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plants operating across the state for alleged violations of pollution norms.
The HSPCB disclosed this in its report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
A detailed report, accessed by HT and submitted by HSPCB’s executive engineer and Panipat regional officer Bhupinder Singh on April 1, revealed that total environmental compensation imposed on RMC plants across Haryana stands at ₹40.61. However, the amount recovered so far is only ₹1.22 crore, leaving a staggering ₹39.39 crore still pending for recovery.
The NGT had asked the government to file a report while hearing a plea by one Deepak. During a hearing, the Tribunal had observed that the HSPCB failed to compile district-wise details regarding the total environmental compensation imposed on polluting RMC units, the amount recovered so far, the pending recoveries and the utilisation of the recovered funds for environmental remediation.
The report also revealed that not even a single rupee of the recovered compensation has yet been utilised for environmental restoration or pollution mitigation works.
{{/usCountry}}The report also revealed that not even a single rupee of the recovered compensation has yet been utilised for environmental restoration or pollution mitigation works.
{{/usCountry}}According to the document, Gurugram district accounts for the largest share of environmental compensation in the state. EC of ₹25.26 crore was recorded only from Gurugram North, of which only around ₹45 lakh has been recovered so far. Meanwhile, entire amount of the EC in Gurugram south--over ₹13 crore--is yet to be recovered.
Similarly, Panipat emerged as another major pollution hotspot with environmental compensation of ₹1.02 crore, out of which ₹33.30 lakh has been recovered
Faridabad recorded compensation of ₹86.58 lakh, of which, nearly ₹29.74 lakh has been recovered.
HSPCB chairman Vinay Partap Singh said the board has filed a reply before the NGT regarding environmental violations done by RMCs across all districts. Regional officers of HSPCB have been asked to coordinate with concerned departments to complete recovery proceedings for EC levied on defaulter RMCs. Recovery of pending EC is being reviewed with ROs. He added that since the matter is under adjudication before the NGT, further action would be taken as per the Tribunal’s directions in this case.
Regarding the utilisation of recovered compensation, the board informed the Tribunal that it is under consideration in another pending matter before the NGT and the amount would be utilised only after recovering the remaining dues and finalizing district-level projects for mitigating air pollution in Haryana.
However, several districts including Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa and Yamunanagar reported either no compensation or no pending dues in the report.