Haryana can now fine polluters even without court orders

The new modalities for levying and recovering compensation have been derived from the ‘polluter pays’ principle of environmental governance, which holds that the party responsible for polluting should also pay for the resulting environmental damage.

In a first, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has formed guidelines, at the state level, that will allow it to penalise and recover monetary compensation from individuals and organisations engaged in polluting activities at its own discretion, without seeking or receiving instructions from courts.

Monday’s order of the state pollution watchdog details eight instances for levying environmental fines. (Yogendra Kumar/HT file)

An order to this effect, with detailed guidelines for implementation, was issued by the HSPCB chairman on Monday.

“So far, the standard course of action (against polluters) involved prosecuting those who were doing the polluting, and letting legal recourse determine the fine to be paid. Now, with immediate effect, the HSPCB has the authority to levy fines at its discretion before proceeding with prosecution,” HSPCB member secretary S Narayanan said.

The new modalities for levying and recovering compensation have been derived from the ‘polluter pays’ principle of environmental governance, which holds that the party responsible for polluting should also pay for the resulting environmental damage. This principle has been upheld by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Supreme Court of India on multiple occasions.

HSPCB officials said this revision of protocol would enable swifter enforcement of environmental laws, and leave little room for polluters to get away without facing the monetary consequences of their actions. The revenue thus incurred will be held in a separate account, to be used for remediation of polluted environments, officials said.

Monday’s order, a copy of which is with HT, details eight instances for levying environmental compensation, including discharge of pollutants “in excess of standards prescribed under environmental protection rules”, such as Environmental Protection Act, 1986, the Air Act, 1981 and Water Act, 1974.

Other violations include withholding or manipulating data about effluents and emissions monitoring, non-compliance with action plans, operating without consent, accidental or intentional discharge of pollutants into the environment, lapses in implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR, and failure to impose the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

“The assessment and utilisation of environmental compensation (fines) will be done by the concerned Regional Office,” states Monday’s order, which goes on to add that if the violator(s) does not deposit the penalty within a period of 15 days after receiving directions from the regional office, they will be prosecuted under the relevant sections of the Environmental Protection Act, Air Act and Water Act.

The decision to empower state bodies in this manner was taken at the 63rd conference of member secretaries and chairpersons of SPCBs, held under the aegis of the Central Board on March 18. These guidelines were developed by the CPCB in response to a 2017 NGT order, which empowered it to “assess and recover compensation for damage to the environment.” Now, with Monday’s order, the same responsibilities have been formally handed down to the HSPCB, with other states expected to follow suit.

Rahul Choudhary, an environmental lawyer, said, “This development is not entirely new. Under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, for example, state boards have been given similar powers to issue appropriate directions, which may include levying cash penalties.”

In most cases though, compensation for environmental damage is collected as a result of legal proceedings, and not prima facie. “It seems like the HSPCB now has a formal system which will enable prima facie recovery of damages,” Choudhary said.