New Delhi:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has upheld a fine of ₹25 lakh levied on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for decades of neglect outside a school for the visually impaired in west Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar.
Disposing of a plea by MCD, the tribunal said it had made “no error” in ordering the civic body to pay compensation for the upkeep of the Akhil Bhartiya Netrahin Sangh School, which has provided free education and accommodation to over 100 visually impaired students annually since 1971.
The penalty was first imposed in November 2024 after the NGT found that MCD had violated Rule 15 of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, by allowing a “dhalao (garbage dump)” to operate outside the school’s main gate. The tribunal took suo motu cognisance in April 2024 of a media report describing how garbage routinely spilled onto the road, hindering students’ movement and creating health hazards.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava, in its August 5 order, dismissed MCD’s argument that the fine was unjustified as the dhalao had been shut in November 2024.
“The dhalao was closed just four days before the delivery of the judgment. Even closure of the dhalao will have no effect on the matter because the environmental compensation has been imposed upon the respondent - MCD for the past violations. In the review application itself the MCD has admitted that the dhalao came in existence in 1984-85 much after the Akhil Bhartiya Nitrahin Sangh School was established in 1971, meaning thereby visually impaired students have suffered the agony and environmental harms for several decades,” the bench said in its latest order.
{{/usCountry}}“The dhalao was closed just four days before the delivery of the judgment. Even closure of the dhalao will have no effect on the matter because the environmental compensation has been imposed upon the respondent - MCD for the past violations. In the review application itself the MCD has admitted that the dhalao came in existence in 1984-85 much after the Akhil Bhartiya Nitrahin Sangh School was established in 1971, meaning thereby visually impaired students have suffered the agony and environmental harms for several decades,” the bench said in its latest order.
{{/usCountry}}“Considering the health hazard and serious problem suffered by the visually impaired students studying and residing in the school, the compensation awarded is very reasonable… No ground for review is made out, which is accordingly dismissed,” the bench said.
School officials said while the dhalao has been removed, some residents from nearby areas continue throw waste at the same spot. “The dhalao has been shut and removed, but some residents here still throw their daily waste here. We have sought a solution from the NGT and MCD in this regard too,” said Devendra Singh Rathore, general secretary of the school.