National Green Tribunal
News Item In The Indian Express Dated ... vs Union Of India & Ors. The on 18 August, 2022
Author: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Bench: Adarsh Kumar Goel
Item No. 01 Court No. 1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
(By Video Conferencing)
Review Application No. 21/2022
IN
Original Application No. 286/2022)
In re: News item published in The Indian Express dated 20th April, 2022,
titled "7 Charred to death in fire near Ludhiana dumpsite"
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Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana Review Applicant
Date of hearing: 18.08.2022
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR AGARWAL, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE PROF. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER
IN CHAMBER BY CIRCULATION
ORDER
1. The application seeks review of order dated 25.07.2022 in O.A. No. 286/2022. By the said order, the Tribunal dealt with the issue of failure of Municipal Corporation Ludhiana to comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental norms resulting in continuing damage to environment and public health. The issue became more prominent in the wake of media report of death of seven persons on April, 2022 due to fire at the garbage dump site.
2. Vide order dated 21.04.2022, the Tribunal sought a factual report from the Monitoring Committee constituted by this Tribunal headed by Justice Jasbir Singh, former Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court 1 and also comprising a former Chief Secretary, Punjab, a former Member Secretary, Punjab State PCB and an environmentalist. The Committee was to provide a copy of the report to the Chief Secretary, Punjab for response of the State, if any.
3. The Committee gave its report dated 15.05.2022 depicting utter failure of the State Authorities in scientifically handling the waste and also managing the dumpsite. The report found that apart from continuing damage to public health and environment and violation of Rules and orders of this Tribunal, failure of the Administration also had potential for damage to human lives as 200-300 rag pickers were allowed to live around the dumpsite. There was discharge of methane gas into the atmosphere, there was no segregation of mix waste dumped at the site, fire hydrants were not installed, fire alarms and sirens were not installed, leachate water was flowing in large quantity at the site, carcass disposal was not scientific. Waste water was being discharged into river Satluj. The Committee found that in monetary terms, loss could be held to be atleast to the extent of Rs. 100 crores which was required for remediation. Some extracts from the report are:
"Visit to the solid waste dumping site of Ludhiana at Village Kakka, Tajpur Road, Ludhiana by the Monitoring Committee on 27.4.2022
1. The Municipal Corporation Ludhiana is generating 1100 TPD solid waste and entire waste is sent to the dump site. As per the report submitted by PPCB, 968 TPD and 985 TPD solid waste has been sent to solid waste dumping site on 23.04.2022 and 24.04.2022, respectively and the remaining quantity is thrown at garbage vulnerable points causing lot of damage to the environment.
2. Since the fresh solid waste processing plant is lying defunct, as such, there is need to appoint a new concessionaire to process the solid waste by the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana at the earliest. As per the District Environment Plan, the timelines for commissioning of the solid waste processing plant for processing of fresh solid waste was mentioned as 30.04.2024.2
However, the processes of preparation of DPR, approval of DPR, floating of RFP and appoint of consultant are yet to be initiated by the Corporation. Therefore, the Monitoring committee recommended that an Environment compensation of suitable amount may be imposed on the Corporation as a cost of damage caused to the environment. PPCB may also initiate the process of encashment of bank guarantees submitted for not completing the various activities like source segregation of solid waste by 31.08.2021, providing onsite composting in the remaining parks to manage horticulture waste by 31.8.2021, constructing remaining material recovery facilities by 30.11.2021 and construction of boundary wall by 31.08.2021 and stating the work of treatment of legacy waste by 28.02.2021. The compensation be imposed in terms of the formula recognized by the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal in OA no. 593 of 2018 and WPC No. 375 of 2012, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti & Anr. Vs. Union of India & Ors. The total amount works out to more than Rs. 100 crores.
3. As per District Environment Plan, for installation of machinery for processing of legacy waste, DPR was to prepared by 31.12.2021, approval of DPR by 31.01.2022, preparation of RFP by 31.03.2022 and appointment of new concessionaire by 31.07.2022. However, the most of the timelines of said activities have been expired and concessionaire to process the legacy waste is yet to be appointed, as such, for the treatment of legacy waste, long time will be required and the quantity of legacy waste shall be continued to be increased day by day. Therefore, the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana has to appoint the concessionaire at the earliest. For delay in processing the legacy waste, the Monitoring Committee recommends that Environment Compensation of suitable amount may be imposed by PPCB as a cost of damage caused to the Environment in a manner as mentioned in recommendation no. 2 as above.
4. Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana shall assess the quantity of leachate generated at solid waste dumping site and effluent treatment plant for treatment of leachate may be installed by 31.12.2022."
4. The Tribunal further considered the matter vide order dated 25.07.2022. It was noted that inspite of opportunity, neither the Corporation nor the Chief Secretary to whom a copy of the report was provided by the Committee in terms of order of the Tribunal had filed any response though sufficient time had elapsed. For detailed reasons, the 3 Tribunal held that the report could be accepted and interim directions issued for compensation to the heirs of the deceased and for remedial action in terms of report of the Committee. It was further directed that a sum of Rs. 100 crores be deposited with the District Magistrate, Ludhiana in a separate account as interim compensation, to be utilized for remedial measures, to be overseen by the Committee. Liberty was given to collect the amount from the waste generators or from those who failed to perform their statutory obligations.
5. We have considered the Review Application by circulation as per Rules. The said Application does not dispute the state of affairs depicted in the report of the Committee. Only basis for seeking review is that a plan has been prepared for remediation of the waste and submitted to the Central Government for funds. A plant has been set up for carcass utilization. Directions have been issued to the Local Bodies in the State for compliance. An agreement has been entered into with a service provider for waste management.
6. In view of undisputed and proved continued violations, mere making of plan and submitting it to the Central Government, issuing of directions or entering into an agreement with the service provider cannot be treated as substitute for inalienable constitutional obligation of providing clean environment. Such steps are not compliance of binding statutory norms under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Timelines provided therein have admittedly expired without any effective compliance by the State. There is also violation of judgement of this Tribunal dated 22.12.2016, (2016) SCC Online NGT 2981, in proceedings transferred by the Hon'ble Supreme Court to this Tribunal vide order dated 2.9.2014 in WP 888/1996, Almitra Patel case. No plea has been 4 raised that the compensation is not based on any scientific assessment. Moreover, compensation is to be utilized for restoration measures for which constitutional and statutory obligation is of the State Authorities.
7. Even after judgement dated 22.12.2016 supra, this Tribunal has been monitoring compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules and the Chief Secretaries of non compliant States were required to appear before this Tribunal in person for interaction. The Chief Secretary, Punjab appeared on 07.03.2019 and thereafter, on 10.01.2020 and orders were passed requiring compliance, after recording findings that there was continued failure. Legacy waste dumpsites are serious threat to public health and also source of generation of greenhouse gases. The Tribunal considered the issue of quantification of loss to environment by legacy waste dump sites inter alia in OA 514/2018 and OA 519/2019. Orders passed show that as per expert studies, loss for such failure, due to release of pollutants in air atmosphere, release of leachate into ground /surface water and soil, due to pollution from the landfill site, damage cost associated with climate change due to carbon di-oxide and methane, damage caused due to aesthetics loss, price depreciation due to disamenity cost etc., is huge running in hundreds of crores. Some of the orders showing this are quoted below:
Order dated 23.03.2020 in O.A. No. 519/2019 "xxxx................................xxx................................................xxx
18. We may observe that non-compliance of rules relating to waste disposal results in damage to the environment and public health. Any failure needs to be visited with assessment and recovery of compensation for such damage from the persons responsible for such failure. A study was recently got conducted by CPCB, under orders of this Tribunal requiring such a study by a joint Committee comprising CPCB, NEERI and IIT, Delhi about the monetary cost of damage caused to the environment on account of existence of legacy waste dump site at Gurgaon (Bandhewadi) vide order dated 05.03.2019 in O.A. No. 5 514/2018. The report of the CPCB filed on 13.02.2020 is that damage on account of the said legacy waste dump site was Rs. 148.46 crore, on account of damage to the air quality, soil and water quality, climate change and disamenity (aesthetic). The damage has been assessed in terms of impact on health due to release of pollutants in air atmosphere, release of leachate into ground /surface water and soil, due to pollution from the landfill site, damage cost associated with climate change due to carbon di-oxide and methane, damage caused due to aesthetics loss, price depreciation due to disamenity cost etc.
19. Thus, monetary cost of every legacy dump site is expected to be huge depending upon the location, quantity and quality of waste and area covered, its proximity to water body/ stream and human habitation etc. Needless to say that there is huge cost for non-compliance of provisions relating to waste management - Solid as well as Liquid. Loss to the environment and public health is taking place not only on account of delay in clearing legacy waste but also for not complying with other provisions of the Rules resulting in huge gap in generation and processing of waste. It may be necessary to determine such cost for delay in clearing legacy waste at every dump site as well as for delay in complying with other rules and failure to treat sewage and recover the same from the persons responsible for action in the matter. Let the Committee comprising CPCB, NEERI & IIT Delhi carry out similar study as mentioned in Para 18 above to assess the amount of damage to environment on account of dump sites in Delhi within two months."
Order dated 29.01.2021 in O.A. No. 519/2019 "6. Accordingly, status report dated 28.01.2021 has been filed by the CPCB as follows:-
"2.0 Action Taken :-
In compliance of Para 19 of aforesaid Hon'ble NGT's Order, Joint committee comprising of following members has been formed: Dr. S. K. Goyal, Chief Scientist and Head, NEERI Delhi Zonal Center Dr. G .V .Ramanna, Professor, Department. of Civil Engg., IIT-Delhi Ms D. Sinha, DH- UPC-II, CPCB Mr. P. Agarwal, Scientist-E, CPCB Report on "Assessment of amount of damage to environment on account of dumpsites in Delhi" as prepared by Joint committee is placed at Annexure-A. Amount of Damage to Environment due to three dumpsites of Delhi to be levied on Municipal Corporations of Delhi is given in the following table:6
S.No. Name of Municipal Name of Damage Cost
assessed,
Corporation Dumpsite (Rupees)
1. NDMC (North Delhi Bhalswa 155.9 Crore
Municipal Corp.)
2. EDMC (East Delhi Ghazipur 142.5 Crore
Municipal Corp.)
3. SDMC (SouthDelhi Municipal Okhla 151.1 Crore
Corp.)
xxx..................................xxx...........................................xxx
7. Report of inspection conducted by the joint Committee comprising of the CPCB, NEERI and IIT Delhi is filed with following summary and conclusion:
"5.0 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION :
i. Hon'ble NGT in OA No. 519/2019 constituted a Committee comprising of CPCB, NEERI & IIT Delhi to assessment of damage to environment due of dump sites in Delhi within two months.
ii. Baseline information was collected by Committee through Questionnaire sent to three concerned Municipal Corporations (MCs). As per the information provided by the MCs, bio mining is being carried out at all three sites. However, about 6% of waste has been bio-remediated at the three sites. Further, fresh waste is being dumped at all three dumpsites.
iii. Potential sources of air pollution at the sites include handling of fresh waste, Bio mining of legacy waste, Methane and other Green House gases from the Dumpsite , transportation of fresh waste & screened fractions, Odour & Fire accidents. Potential sources of water pollution at the sites includes Leachate which is being generated at all the three dumpsites iv. Air Pollution control measures taken at site includes mainly includes sprinkling of water. It has been informed by the authorities that smog guns are being procured for control of air pollution. No concrete measures for leachate collection and treatment have being taken at the three dumpsites. Leachate is partially being recirculated for stabilization of waste and the remaining is being discharged into nearby surface water drains. Actual details regarding quantity of leachate used/ discharged not provided by the concerned authorities v. Concentration of TDS, TSS, COD & BOD in leachate exceeds the stipulated norms at all the three dumpsites. Concentration of Heavy metals is within the stipulated 7 norms with the exception of lead which has marginally exceeded the permissible limits at Ghazipur.
Assessment of Ambient Air, Surface & Ground Water quality is based on monitoring data of CPCB for the past three years. Zone of impact has been considered to be 5 km and information related to monitored stations located within and beyond this radius has been compiled and analysed. In addition, information provided by Delhi Pollution Control Committee regarding ground water monitoring has been taken into consideration.
vii. As per air quality monitoring data, PMio & PM25 concentrations exceeded the prescribed values at all monitored stations upto 5 km distance & beyond from the Dumpsite sites. SO2 & NH3 concentrations are within the prescribed values at all monitored stations. Benzene has exceeded the stipulated limited at one station and NOx has exceeded the permissible limit at 7 monitored stations.
viii. As per the water quality monitoring data, concentration value of Arsenic, Chromium, Copper, Chloride, TDS, Fluoride, Cadmium and Iron exceeded the permissible limits at specified locations of Surface & Ground Water locations. Besides COD was detected at several stations monitored. As heavy metals (except iron) concentration in leachate was within specified norms and Chloride and TDS were within the permissible drinking water limits (BIS 10500) at most stations monitored, further analysis was done in terms of COD & Fe concentration levels and following are the observations:
High level of COD & Fe reported in Ground water at all three sites in Ground water which may be due to leachate from the dumpsite Very High level of COD, Chloride, TDS, TSS, Turbidity reported in surface water body (Bhalswa lake) located within a radius of 0-1 km from Bhalswa site, which may be due to leachate from the dumpsite High COD values reported in surface water body (Sanjay Lake) located at a distance of 3-5 km from Ghazipur site. Owing to the distance from the site, actual impact due to dumpsite can be confirmed based on the hydrogeology of the region and contaminant transport modelling Fluctuating trend in Iron & COD concentration in ground water observed within 5 km radius at the three sites. Overall increase in Iron and COD levels observed with increase in distance from the dumpsites, indicating, marginal impact on ground water quality due to dumpsite within 5 km distance from dumpsite Ground water outside 5 km radius have reported higher value of COD & Fe than stations located within 5 km radius, indicating minimal impact of 8 dumpsite on ground water quality. Local factors are contributing in deterioration in water quality at these stations As several sources of water pollution including open drains observed in these regions, actual impact of the local sources as well as that of the dumpsite can be confirmed based on the hydrogeology of the region and contaminant transport modelling ix. There are currently 37 Continuous Air Quality monitoring locations in Delhi, of which 10 are located within a distance of 5 km from the dumpsites.
x. Range in variation in PM2.5 & PM10, NOx & Benzene concentration levels within 5 km overlaps the range observed for stations located at distance greater than 5 km from dumpsites. Fluctuating trend is observed in NOx /Benzene concentration levels vis-a-vis distance from the dumpsite.
xi. Several local factors such as drains, road dust, vehicular pollution, C&D waste etc. also contribute towards air & water pollution in the region.
As per analysis of air and water quality carried out, deterioration in environmental quality cannot be attributed directly to the various activities happening at the dumpsites. As further detailed investigations are required to assess actual impact of the dumpsite related activities on the environment (air, water & soil quality), interim cost of damage to environment is based on the Environmental Compensation to be levied for violation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Cost of damage to environment has been calculated based on the Environmental Compensation to be levied for violation of Solid Waste Management Rules and has been assessed as Rs.155.9 Crore (for Bhalswa), Rs. 142.5 Crore (for Ghazipur) and Rs. 151.1 Crore (for Okhla).
xii. Source apportionment studies are required to assess the actual impact of air pollution sources at dumpsite on air quality in the region.
xiii. Detailed hydrogeological investigations and containment transport modelling is required to assess the impact of dumpsites on surface / ground water."
8. As shown above, in O.A. No. 514/2018, damage to the environment was assessed at Rs. 148.46 crores for Air pollution, Water pollution, Soil pollution, Climatic (GHG emissions) and Aesthetics has been taken into 9 consideration in the report and damage cost to environment is estimated at Rs 148.46 crores. The report has following conclusions:-
"7. Results & Conclusion The report focuses on identifying and estimating monetary losses (in 2019 Rupees) on the environment due to the operation of Bandhwari municipal dumpsite. The damage was assessed with a consideration that there is no major polluting industries existing in nearby vicinity other than the dumpsite. The study estimates a total incurred damage of about ₹ 148.46 Crore due to externalities from Bandhwari dumpsite. The breakup is shown in Table 22. The cost for damages includes drivers of externalities like greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and aesthetic loss.
Table 22: Break Up of Monetary Estimation of Damages (reported in 2019 values) Environment Estimated Damage Cost in Lakhs, INR Air Nil Water 2900 Soil 31* Climatic (for last 5 years) 7,000 Aesthetic 4,946 Total 14,846 *Soil value is not considered in total, to avoid double-counting, as it based on total quantum of heavy metal from leachate which is considered in water as well.
The valuation of damages is done for greenhouse gas emissions using social cost of carbon approach recommended by USEPA. The social cost of carbon is indirect measure of loss in economy due to emission of CO2 and is contributing by 73% of total damage due to Bandhwari municipal dumpsite. Air pollution damages are not valued as the emissions hardly breach the limits and the area in which emissions are higher, no population exposure is there. Further, the leachate contaminated groundwater and soil damages are valued using cost transfer method and Extern report valuations. Groundwater sample analysis shows lead and nickel exceeding the BIS standards at sampling locations near the dumpsite. Groundwater beneath the dumpsite showed high contamination due to heavy metals such as Cr, Cu, Pb & Ni. Physiochemical characteristics such as BOD, COD, SS, N, P of the treated leachate showed higher 10 concentration and have contributed to half of the total damage cost in water environment. The leachate is valued for the damages which it can cause due to contamination of soil and water. The damages to water are considered as overall damages. The total quantum of heavy metals due to leachate is fixed and is used for valuation for both soil and water, however, higher damages are seen for water and hence considered in total. Aesthetic losses due to dumpsite are valued using hedonic pricing method. GHG emissions are a part and parcel of any dumpsite. If proper control systems are kept in place these emissions can be controlled and may be utilized as well and hence maximum damages can be averted. Leachate also should be controlled and treated scientifically."
9. Thus, scientific studies support the estimated cost of damage to the environment in the present case. The report of the Committee shows that Ludhiana city generates 1100 TPD of waste which is being deposited in the 52 acres land resulting about 30 lakhs tonnes of legacy waste. As already found, the cost of damage to the environment assessed by the Committee is supported by scientific report in similar circumstances in respect of landfill sites at Delhi and Bandhwari in Gurgaon. The amount in terms of environmental compensation is to be spent for restoration measures such as improving air quality by following proper processing of waste, preventing groundwater or surface water pollution by adopting leachate treatment measures, improving aesthetics and adopting fire- fighting mechanism and remediation of legacy waste to prevent further damage, in the interest of public health and environment.
Thus, no case for review is made out.
The Review Application is dismissed.
Since the main matter is still pending, and review application is only against interlocutory order, the Corporation may file its stand in the said matter.
Adarsh Kumar Goel, CP 11 Sudhir Agarwal, JM Prof. A. Senthil Vel, EM August 18, 2022 Review Application No. 21/2022 In Original Application No. 286/2022 SN 12