Following a plea seeking remedial action against the accumulation of legacy waste in Gurugram and Faridabad, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Haryana government to deposit ₹20 crore in an escrow account.
The green panel added that if the site is not cleared within six months then the amount will be forfeited.
A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel observed, “This tribunal has repeatedly recorded findings of incapacity and incompetence of the authorities concerned in dealing with the matter for scientific disposal of waste so as to ensure compliance of the statutory procedure under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.”
The green panel has also constituted a committee comprising Haryana Chief Secretary and other senior officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and the State pollution control board.
“After removing of legacy waste from the entire or part of the land, the State may consider using part of the recovered land for integrated waste processing and treatment facility and for treatment, storage and disposal facility for hazardous waste,” the Bench directed.
“At the periphery, a biodiversity park can be developed to improve the air quality and ambience. The committee may meet preferably within two weeks and after taking stock of the situation, plan to start further action within one month,” it added. The NGT directed the Secretary, Urban Local Bodies of Haryana, to furnish an interim report within a month.
Earlier in April, the NGT had observed that “there was no time-targeted plan to take remedial measures, which resulted in continued damage to the wildlife and inhabitants of the area on account of air pollution by burning of waste.”
“Though a performance guarantee was furnished in the sum of ₹25 lakh, status of legacy waste at land site remained unsatisfactory state of affairs. Waste was often burnt resulting in air pollution. Condition of landfill site is pathetic,” the Bench observed.