The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the Delhi government for not filing responses to a plea alleging faulty sewage facilities in a south Delhi colony.
A Bench headed by NGT Acting Chairperson Jawad Rahim pulled up the Aam Aadmi Party government and directed it to file the response within a week.
“[Previous] orders have not been complied with. No reply has been filed and the counsel seeks further time. Such a request is unreasonable as the [previous] order made it clear that it will be saddled with cost [if not complied with]. Though we permit the filing of the response, we impose ₹50,000 fine on the government,” the Bench said.
Further, the green panel said that while 50% of the amount has to be deposited with the Legal Aid Committee, the remaining half of the amount has to be paid to the petitioners.
‘Rectify structure’
The directions came while the panel was hearing a plea filed by city resident Charvi Mehra who had alleged that sewage water from neighbouring houses was flowing into their premises.
Further, the petitioners had sought for directions to authorities to “rectify the building structure or take appropriate measures to cease the waste water entering the premises”.
Earlier, the tribunal had directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to inspect the matter and had asked officials from the Delhi Jal Board to propose a layout plan for the drainage of sewage from the colony. However, the SDMC had informed the green panel that the properties in question were “unauthorised properties”.