National Green Tribunal
Sri Kishore Kumar vs Union Of India Ministry Of Environment ... on 25 August, 2020
Author: K. Ramakrishnan
Bench: K. Ramakrishnan
1
Item No.9
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI
O.A.No.27 of 2019 (SZ)
(I.A.29 & 30 of 2019)
IN THE MATTER OF:
Kishore Kumar .. Applicant
Vs.
Union of India & others ... Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 25.8.2020
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. RAMAKRISHNAN, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE MR. SAIBAL DASGUPTA, EXPERT MEMBER
For applicant : Mr.Karunakar Mahalik
For Respondent(s) : . Mr.G.M. Syed Nurullah Sheriff for R1
Mr. Darpan for R2 & R5 to R8
Mr. H.K. Vasanth for R3 & R4
Mr. M.V.V. Ramana for R10
Mr. T.K. Bhaskar for R11
Mr. M.R. Gokul Krishnan for R13
ORDER
As per order dated 7.2.2020, after considering the joint committee report, this Tribunal had admitted the matter and directed the committee to file further report after assessing environmental compensation for the violations committed and posted the 2 case to 27.3.2020. On 27.3.2020, the matter was adjourned to 16.7.2020 and on 16.7.2020, it was adjourned to 17.7.2020 by successive notification. On 17.7.2020, it was adjourned to today for filing further report and directed to post the case along with Appeal No.5 of 2020 because it was filed by one of the alleged violators and stay was granted by this Tribunal.
2. When the matter came up for hearing today through Video Conference, Mr. Karunakar Mahalik represented the applicant, Mr. Syed Nurullah Sheriff represented first respondent, Mr. Darpan represented respondents 2 and 5 to 8, Mr. H.K. Vasanth represented respondents 3 and 4, Mr. M.V.V. Ramana represented 10th respondent, Mr. T.K. Bhaskar represented 11th respondent and Mr.M.R. Gokul Krishnan represented 13th respondent.
3. We have received a further report submitted by the joint committee which reads as follows:
REPORT OF JOINT COMMITTEE CONSTITUTED IN THE MATTER OF ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO. 27 OF 2019 FILED BY SRI KISHORE KUMAR & OTHERS Vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS SUBMITTED BEFORE THE HON'BLE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL, CHENNAI, REGARDING POLLUTION CAUSED BY FISHMEAL INDUSTRIES IN UDYAVARA, UDUPI TALUK AND DIST. KARNATAKA, AS PER THE ORDER DATED 07.02.2020 1.0 Preamble In the matter of Original Application No 27 of 2019 (SZ), Sri. Kishore Kumar Vs Union of India & Ors., the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi has passed an order dated 11th October, 2019 (Annexure 1) and directed that "... It appropriate to constitute a Committee consisting of the Coastal Zone Management Authority, Karnataka, Central Pollution Control Board, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the District Commissioner, Udupi District and District Magistrate, Udupi District to inspect the area in question and the industries and submit the factual 3 report regarding the allegation made in the application and if there is any violation action if any to be taken and if any action is taken that also should be mentioned in the report. The SPCB will be the nodal agency for compliance of co-
ordination".
The Joint Committee accordingly inspected the location in question on during December 10th and 11th, 2019 (2 days) and submitted its report before the Hon'ble NGT, Chennai. The Hon'ble NGT after hearing the case passed an order on 07.02.2020 (Annexure 2) and has opined as ..."The Committee is directed to assess the environmental compensation for the violations as directed by this tribunal in various cases of this nature, applying the principles and guidelines given by the Central Pollution Control Board in this regard, after giving necessary opportunity to the other side to meet the show cause notice issued for imposing compensation and submit a report before the next hearing date".
Accordingly, the Member Convenor of the Joint Committee issued meeting notice to all the members of the Joint Committee to meet on March 18th and 19th, 2020 to assess the environmental compensation based on the methodology developed by Central Pollution Control Board. The Joint Committee after going through methodology and discussion has assessed the environmental compensation for each of the units identified in Udyavara, Udupi.
2.0 Policy for Levying Environmental Compensation(EC) for Industries In compliance of the Hon'ble NGT order, to assess the Environmental Compensation based on "Polluter Pays Principle" under Section 20 of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, the following cases are considered for levying Environmental Compensation as per CPCB guidelines:
a) Discharge in violation of consent conditions, mainly prescribed standards / consent limits.
b) Not Complying with the directions issued, such as direction for closure due to non-
installation of OCEMS, non-adherence to the action plans submitted etc. 4
c) Intentional avoidance of data submission or data manipulation by tampering the online continuous emission/ effluent monitoring systems.
d) Accidental discharges lasting for short durations resulting into damage to the environment.
e) Intentional discharges to the environment - Land, Water and Air resulting into acute injury or damage to the environment.
f) Injection of treated/ partially treated / untreated effluents to ground water. After considering various factors including the policy implementation issues, CPCB has recommended the following formula for levying environmental compensation in instances as mentioned at a), b) and c) including non-compliances of the environmental standards/violation of directions. Accordingly, the Environmental Compensation (EC) is estimated based on the following formula:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF Where, PI - Pollution Index of industrial sector, R - A factor of Rupees for EC N - Number of days of violation took place LF - Location Factor S - Factor for scale of operation The formula incorporates the anticipated severity of environmental pollution in terms of pollution index, duration of violation in terms of number of days, scale of operation in terms of micro and small / medium / large industries and location in terms of proximity to the large habitations.
3.0 Industries identified for assessing EC The following industries are identified for assessment of EC as per the methodology developed by CPCB:
1) M/s Yashaswi Fishmeal and Oil Company, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi
2) M/s Hindustan Marine Industries, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi 5
3) M/s Unity Fishmeal and Oil Company, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi
4) M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi
5) M/s Coastal Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi
6) M/s Suha Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi Out of six units, the units 1 to 3 are involved in manufacturing fishmeal and oil whereas the remaining units 4 to 6 are carrying out fish cutting.
4.0 Assessment of Environmental Compensation The Joint Committee has assessed the Environmental Compensation of above said six industries, the details are as follows:
4.1 M/s Yashaswi Fishmeal and Oil Company, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit is manufacturer of fishmeal and fish oil, is categorized as Large Orange, operating with valid consents under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1981. The consent is valid up to 30.09.2020 and authorisation under Hazardous & Other Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 valid up to 30.06.2021.
The Joint Committee based on the observations made during earlier inspection on 10. 12.2019 and the non-compliances noticed over the period 5 years by KSPCB were considered for assessing the EC. The non-compliances noticed are tabulated below:
Sl. No Non-compliances noticed Date / Period Remarks 1 Water consumption and Effluent generations 10.12.2019 As per the are exceeding the permitted capacity of Committee consent. Observation 2 Non-compliance of treated effluent w.r.t September 2018 to As per KSPCB discharge standards. October 2018 records 3 Not having NOC from the Ground Water 10.12.2019 As per the Authority for drawing ground water. Committee Observation 4 Non-Compliance to Hazardous & Other 10.12.2019 As per the 6 Wastes Management Rules. Committee Observation The above cases are considered for levying Environmental Compensation as per CPCB guidelines. The estimation of EC is EC = PI * N * R * S * LF Pollution Index (PI): The unit is falling under the category of Orange, accordingly the average PI suggested is 50.
Number of Days of violation took place (N): The details of non-compliance period are:
Non Compliance Period Number of Days From To 26.09.2018 21.11.2018 56 10.12.2019 18.03.2020* 99 Total Days 155 Note : * Committee meeting date A factor of Rupees for EC (R): As suggested in the report i.e. Rs.250 Factor for scale of operation (S): Large category and the factor is 1.5 Location Factor (LF): The total population is < 1Million and the factor is 1.0 According to above factors:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF = 50 * 155 * 250 * 1.5 * 1.0 7 = 29,06,250/-
The Environmental Compensation (EC) estimated is Rs.29,06,250/- (Rupees Twenty Nine Lakhs Six Thousand Two Fifty only).
4.2 M/s Hindustan Marine Industries, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit is manufacturer of fishmeal and is categorized as Small Orange, operating with valid consents under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1981, with validity up to 30.09.2023 and authorisation under Hazardous & Other Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 is exempted by KSPCB because unit is having DG set of <500 KVA capacity.
The Joint Committee based on the observations made during earlier inspection on 10. 12.2019 and the non-compliances noticed over the period 5 years by KSPCB were considered for assessing the EC. The non-compliances noticed are tabulated below:
Sl. No Non-compliances noticed Date / Period Remarks
1 Water consumption and Effluent 10.12.2019 As per the
generations are exceeding the permitted Committee
capacity of consent. Observation
2 Non-compliance of treated effluent w.r.t January 2017 to April As per KSPCB
discharge standards. 2017 & November 2017 records
3 Not having NOC from the Ground 10.12.2019 As per the
Water Authority for drawing ground Committee
water. Observation
The above cases are considered for levying Environmental Compensation as per CPCB guidelines. The estimation of EC is EC = PI * N * R * S * LF 8 Pollution Index (PI): The unit is falling under the category of Orange, accordingly the average PI suggested is 50.
A factor of Rupees for EC (R): The committee of the opinion to consider Rs. 100 as a factor, being a small unit.
Number of Days of violation took place (N): The details of non-compliance period are:
Non Compliance Period Number of Days From To 23.01.2017 12.04.2017 79 23.11.2017 26.12.2017 33 10.12.2019 18.03.2020* 99 Total Days 211 Note: * Committee meeting date Factor for scale of operation (S): Small category and the factor is 0.5 Location Factor (LF): The total population is < 1Million and the factor is 1.0 According to above factors:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF = 50 * 211 * 100 * 0.5 * 1.0 = 5,27,500/-
The Environmental Compensation (EC) estimated is Rs.5,27,500/- (Rupees Five Lakhs Twenty seven Thousand Five Hundred only).
4.3 M/s Unity Fishmeal and Oil Company, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit was manufacturer of fishmeal & oil and categorized as Medium Orange. The unit is not in operation since 2014. The consent obtained under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1981 has 9 expired on 30.09.2015 and authorisation obtained under Hazardous & Other Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 expired on 30.06.2014 .
The committee of the opinion that the unit was not in operation for more than 5 years and there is no information of non-compliance records found with the KSPCB. Hence, it is recommended not to consider for Environmental Compensation.
4.4 M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit is involved in carrying out cutting and cleaning of fishes for about 12 TPD. This activity falls under the category of Orange, where, as per the estimation of the Pollution Index may be categorized as Green. The unit is in operation and discharging their effluent into Udyavara River without obtaining consent under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 from KSPCB.
The Joint Committee based on the observations made during earlier inspection on 11.12.2019 and the non-compliances noticed by KSPCB were considered for assessing the EC. The non-compliances noticed are tabulated below:
Sl. No Non-compliances noticed Date Remarks
1 Operating & discharging the effluent without 09.10.2019 As per KSPCB
obtaining the Consent. records
The above case is considered for levying Environmental Compensation as per CPCB guidelines. The estimation of EC is EC = PI * N * R * S * LF Pollution Index (PI): The unit is falling under the category of Orange, accordingly the average PI suggested is 25.
Number of Days of violation took place (N): The details of non-compliance period are:
Non Compliance Period Number of Days 10 From To 09.10.2019 18.03.2020* 161 Total Days 161 Note: * Committee meeting date
A factor of Rupees for EC (R): The committee of the opinion to consider Rs. 100 as a factor, being a small unit.
Factor for scale of operation (S): Small category and the factor is 0.5 Location Factor (LF): The total population is < 1Million and the factor is 1.0 According to above factors:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF = 25* 161 * 100 * 0.5 * 1.0 = 2,01,250/-
The Environmental Compensation (EC) estimated is Rs.2,01,250/- (Rupees Two Lakhs One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty only).
4.5 M/s Coastal Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit is involved in carrying out cutting and cleaning of fishes for about 12 TPD. This activity falls under the category of Orange, where, as per the estimation of the pollution index may be categorized as Green. The unit is in operation and discharging their effluent into Udyavara River without obtaining consent under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 from KSPCB.
The Joint Committee based on the observations made during earlier inspection on 11.12.2019 and the non-compliances noticed by KSPCB were considered for assessing the EC. The non-compliances noticed are tabulated below:
Sl. No Non-compliances noticed Date Remarks
1 Operating & discharging the effluent without 09.10.2019 As per KSPCB
11
obtaining the Consent. records
Since the activity, category & scale of operation, date of observation and period non-
compliance of the unit are remain same as M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food. Accordingly the estimated EC for M/s Coastal Sea Food is:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF = 25* 161 * 100 * 0.5 * 1.0 = 2,01,250/-
The Environmental Compensation (EC) estimated is Rs.2,01,250/- (Rupees Two Lakhs One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty only).
4.6 M/s Suha Sea Food, Pithrody, Udyavara, Udupi This unit is involved in carrying out cutting and cleaning of fishes for about 12 TPD. This activity falls under the category of Orange, where, as per the estimation of the pollution index may be categorized as Green. The unit is in operation and discharging their effluent into Udyavara River without obtaining consent under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 from KSPCB.
The Joint Committee based on the observations made during earlier inspection on 11.12.2019 and the non-compliances noticed by KSPCB were considered for assessing the EC. The non-compliances noticed are tabulated below:
Sl. No Non-compliances noticed Date Remarks
1 Operating & discharging the effluent without 09.10.2019 As per KSPCB
obtaining the Consent. records
12
Since the activity, category & scale of operation, date of observation and period non-
compliance of the unit are remain same as M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food. Accordingly the estimated EC for M/s M/s Suha Sea Food is:
EC = PI * N * R * S * LF = 25* 161 * 100 * 0.5 * 1.0 = 2,01,250/-
The Environmental Compensation (EC) estimated is Rs.2,01,250/- (Rupees Two Lakhs One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty only).
5.0 Action taken by KSPCB & KSCZMA The Hon'ble NGT, Chennai has directed concern authorities to submit their reply regarding the further action taken on the basis of show cause notices issued to the various industries on violation of CRZ regulations and pollution laws before the next hearing date i.e. 27.03.2020. The action taken by the authorities are as follow:
5.1 Action taken by KSPCB Based on the non-compliances of the following fish meal/fish cutting units, the KSPCB has taken following actions.
Name of the industry Date of Issue of Notices
Notice Show Cause Notice NPD
M/s Yashaswi Fish Meal & Oil 16.03.2020 - -
Company
M/s Hindusthan Marine Industries 16.03.2020 - -
M/s Unity Fish Meal & Oil Company No action is initiated as the unit is closed since 2014.
M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food 19.10.2019 07.12.2019 16.01.2020
M/s Coastal Sea Food 19.10.2019 07.12.2019 16.01.2020
M/s Suha Sea Food 19.10.2019 07.12.2019 16.01.2020
Note : NPD - Notice of Direction
13
5.2 Action taken by KSCZMA
The member of the committee from KSCZMA informed that KSCZMA has already initiated actions against the units violating CRZ regulations by issuing proposed direction as per Section 5 of The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The status report w.r.t show cause notice issued to the units and action taken on violation of CRZ regulation of the same will be submitted separately by KSCZMA before the Hon'ble NGT, Chennai.
6.0 Summary As per the Hon'ble NGT, Chennai direction, the joint committee estimated the Environmental Compensation of the identified units by following the methodology evolved by CPCB. Accordingly, the summary of EC estimated is as follows:
Sl. No Name of the Unit Estimated EC
1 M/s Yashaswi Fish Meal & Oil Company Rs. 29,06,250/-
2 M/s Hindusthan Marine Industries Rs. 5,27,500/-
3 M/s Ocean Fresh Sea Food Rs. 2,01,250/-
4 M/s Coastal Sea Food Rs. 2,01,250/-
5 M/s Suha Sea Food Rs. 2,01,250/-
The KSPCB shall take appropriate action on non-compliances observed and also to collect Environmental Compensation, as estimated on respective units.
(Ramesh D. Naik) (Raju K)
SEO, KSPCB AC, Kundapura
(G. Thirumurthy) (Prasanna Patagar)
Addl. Director, CPCB RD (Envt.), KSCZMA
4. Learned counsel appearing for the Karnataka State Coastal Zone Management Authority submitted that the respondent has filed Appeal No.5 of 2020 before this Tribunal and now that is posted to 5.10.2020.
5. In the mean time, further action taken on the basis of the recommendation made by the regulating authorities be filed before the next hearing date. The other respondents are also at liberty to file their objections to the committee report.14
For filing further action taken report if any, post on 5.10.2020 .........................................J.M. (Justice K. Ramakrishnan) .........................................E.M. (Saibal Dasgupta) O.A.27/2019 25.8.2020 Kkr