With the municipal corporation (MC) failing to take up proper solid waste management in the city and failing to deal with over 16 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste dumped at the main dump site, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has imposed an environmental compensation of ₹1.8 crore on the civic body.
The penalty has been imposed on the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
In the notice issued by the PPCB, the officials have stated that the civic body failed to manage the solid waste and process the waste dumped at the main site on a daily basis. Over 1,100 metric tonnes of waste is generated in the city and dumped at the main site everyday.
Getting directions from the NGT, the PPCB officials inspected the work to process the waste at the dump site six times in the period between June 2019 and December 2020 and found that the waste processing plant (RDF plant) run by A2Z Company was not working properly. Also, the civic body was not complying with the solid waste management rules regarding waste segregation, etc.
The penalty has been imposed for the period July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
{{/usCountry}}The penalty has been imposed for the period July 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
{{/usCountry}}Civic body given 15 days to submit penalty
PPCB chief engineer Gulshan Rai said that the notice was issued to MC on July 15 and the civic body has been given 15 days to submit the environmental compensation.
Meanwhile, mayor Balkar Sandhu said that the process to deal with solid waste got disturbed due to the pandmeic last year. “The MC will file an appeal in the case and we are working to hire contractors for dealing with solid waste in the city. Action will also be taken against the MC officials responsible for the failure,” said the mayor.
The trouble for the MC has further increased after the A2Z company terminated the contract of solid waste management in the city on February 4. Now the processing of waste has completely stopped and over 1100 metric tonnes of waste, which is generated in the city, is accumulating at the dump site. The MC has been facing the heat of NGT over the same.
In the month of May, an NGT monitoring committee had also slammed the MC for failing to deal with legacy waste, which is contaminating groundwater around the dump site. The fire incidents are reported due to generation of highly combustible methane gas at the landfill site, resulting in air pollution, the committee had said.
The MC has entered into a contract with a private firm for lifting garbage from the city, while it is working to hire a contractor for dealing with solid waste on a permanent basis.