The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has sought penal action against the Bathinda municipal corporation and its waste-processing concessionaire, JITF Urban Waste Management (Bathinda) Ltd, after an inspection flagged continued violations, including fresh waste dumping, non-operational processing machinery, untreated effluent discharge and operation without valid consent. It sought recovery of ₹85 lakh in outstanding environmental compensation.
In a compliance report filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on September 22, the PPCB said it had filed a complaint under Section 15C of the Environment (Protection) Amendment Act, 2024, before the adjudicating officer, department of science, technology and environment, Punjab, seeking penalty and recovery of environmental compensation from the civic body, its commissioner and the JITF.
The action follows the NGT’s August 4, 2026, order in the application filed by Bikramjit Singh Shergill. The tribunal had directed the PPCB to initiate proceedings for violations of the Environment (Protection) Act. The PPCB said ₹89 lakh had been imposed, of which only ₹4 lakh had been deposited, leaving ₹85 lakh outstanding.
Problem of legacy waste
According to the PPCB’s August 13 inspection, the facility had 12 municipal solid waste storage pits, each with a capacity of about 2,500-3,000 tonnes. Fresh waste was being dumped daily. Of two installed processing lines, only one was operational.
{{/usCountry}}According to the PPCB’s August 13 inspection, the facility had 12 municipal solid waste storage pits, each with a capacity of about 2,500-3,000 tonnes. Fresh waste was being dumped daily. Of two installed processing lines, only one was operational.
{{/usCountry}}The board found mixed waste, semi-finished compost, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and rejects lying in heaps. While the municipal corporation claimed the legacy waste had been remediated, the PPCB said continued arrival of semi-processed waste was effectively creating legacy waste again. Legacy-waste processing machinery was also non-operational.
The report flagged leachate concerns. Though a three-partition leachate tank had been installed, the board observed that leachate was being discharged into a sullage carrier leading towards an STP. Part of the effluent was reportedly discharged untreated into the Lissara drain.
The facility was found to be setting aside 41.8 tonnes of waste a day, including 14.4 tonnes of semi-finished compost and 27.4 tonnes of rejects, which accumulated as legacy waste.
MC failed to obtain consent
Another issue was the absence of valid statutory consent. The municipal corporation had failed to obtain consent to operate the facility under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The authorisation expired on June 30, 2025, but the facility continued to operate without it.
The PPCB said ₹64 lakh in environmental compensation had been imposed for violations of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, for periods between July 2020 and September 2025. An additional ₹25 lakh was imposed for failure to properly manage and process solid waste, taking the total to ₹89 lakh. Of this, ₹4 lakh had been deposited by the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC), leaving ₹85 lakh unpaid.
The PPCB has asked the adjudicating officer to summon the corporation, JITF and responsible persons and initiate penalty proceedings. It also sought directions to the corporation to deposit ₹85 lakh.