National Green Tribunal
Ravindra Kumar vs State Of Bihar on 8 May, 2025
Item No.07 Court No.1
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA
(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)
Original Application No.206/2024/EZ
(Earlier O.A. No.901/2024/EZ)
Ravindra Kumar Applicant(s)
Versus
State of Bihar Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 08.05.2025
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s) : None
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Madanjeet Kumar, Adv. for R-1 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Surendra Kumar, Adv. for R-2 (in Virtual Mode),
Ms. Amrita Pandey, Adv. for R-3 (in Virtual Mode),
Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-4 (in Virtual Mode)
ORDER
1. Case called out. No one is present on behalf of the Applicant.
2. Affidavit dated 05.05.2025 has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.3, Bihar State Pollution Control Board; the same is taken on record.
3. Heard Mr. Madanjeet Kumar, learned Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) for the Respondent No.1; Mr. Surendra Kumar, learned Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the Respondent No.2; Ms. Amrita Pandey, learned Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the Respondent No.3 and Mr. Ashok Prasad, learned Counsel appearing (in Virtual Mode) on behalf of the Respondent No.4. (Final order of the said case will be uploaded in NGT website by separate sheets of paper).
..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM ............................................. Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM May 08, 2025, Original Application No.206/2024/EZ (Earlier O.A. No.901/2024/EZ) SKB 1 Item No.07 Court No.1 BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA (THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE) Original Application No.206/2024/EZ (Earlier O.A. No.901/2024/EZ) IN THE MATTER OF:
Ravindra Kumar Vill - Shreerampur, Post + PS - Behata, Patna, Bihar .... Applicant(s) Versus
1. Nagar Parishad (Municipal Council) Through its Executive Officer, Behta, District - Patna, Bihar
2. District Magistrate, Patna Patna Collectorate, Patna, Bihar
3. Bihar State Pollution Control Board Parivesh Bhawan, Plot No. NS-B/2, Patliputra Industrial Area, Patliputra, Patna (Bihar), Pin - 800 010
4. Central Pollution Control Board Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi - 110032 .... Respondent(s) Date of hearing: 08.05.2025 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER For Applicant(s) : None, For Respondent(s) : Mr. Madanjeet Kumar, Adv. for R-1 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Surendra Kumar, Adv. for R-2 (in Virtual Mode), Ms. Amrita Pandey, Adv. for R-3 (in Virtual Mode), Mr. Ashok Prasad, Adv. for R-4 (in Virtual Mode) ORDER
1. No one is present for the Applicant. Notice was issued to the Applicant on 13.11.2024 but no one has appeared thereafter or even today. The 2 track consignment of the notice sent to the Applicant on 07.12.2024 shows 'Item Delivered' and, therefore, notice on the Applicant shall be deemed to be sufficient.
2. The Original Application No.901/2024/PB was registered by the New Delhi Bench of the Tribunal on the basis of a letter petition received from Mr. Ravindra Kumar in the office of the Tribunal on 01.12.2023 alleging that the Nagar Parishad (Municipal Council), Behta, District Patna is throwing garbage in Abadi area causing huge air pollution, contaminating ground water, soil etc. and also causing health hazards to the local residents. It is stated that the said local body is liable for handling, management, processing and disposal of solid waste in a scientific manner but in utter violation of statutory responsibility enshrined under Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, the local body is throwing garbage/solid waste in the Abadi area and thereby causing damage to environment.
3. At the time of admission, the Tribunal constituted a fact finding Committee comprising of the following Members to look into the allegations made in the letter petition:-
i) District Magistrate, Patna;
ii) Bihar State Pollution Control Board; and
iii) Central Pollution Control Board
4. A Compliance Report of the Committee dated 18.12.2024 has been filed wherein it is stated that the Nagar Parishad, Bihta, was formed in the year 2021 and previous to that this area was designated as a Panchayat and, therefore, it is a newly formed Urban Local Body in the District of Patna, Bihar. It is stated that the population of the Nagar Parishad, Bihta, as per 2011 census is 47549 and the present population is about 66035. It is stated that door-to-door collection, transportation of waste is carried out by 7 vehicles and 30 trolleys; nearly 14 Metric Tonnes of waste is collected per day and transported 3 to the dump site at Kishunpur, Bihta, outside the area of the Nagar Parishad, Bihta; household dustbins have been provided to the residents to carry out source segregation; awareness programmes are also organized from time to time. It is also stated that for dumping and processing of waste, a land is required and therefore, the Executive Officer, Nagar Parishad, Bihta, has requested for a piece of land from the Circle Officer, Bihta but till date no land has been made available for a dumping site. It is stated that the present dumping site is not an active dumping site and the dumping of waste at the site has been stopped since the last six months.
5. Along with this affidavit, an Inspection Report has also been filed which reads as under:-
"Joint Committee Report in the Hon'ble NGT Matter O.A. No.901/2024 on issue Related to Dumping of Solid Waste in Abadi Area in Nagar Parishad, Bihta
1. Background Hon'ble National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi passed an order in O.A. No 901/2024 dated 04-09-2024 in matter of Ravindra Kumar V/s State of Bihar. The issue is related to throwing of garbage in Abadi area causing huge air pollution, contaminating ground water, soil etc. and also causing health hazards to the local residents. Further the complain was that local body is liable for handling, management, processing and disposal of solid waste in a scientific manner but in utter violation of statutory responsibility enshrined under Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016 the local body is throwing away garbage/solid waste in the Abadi area and thereby causing damage to the environment. A paper cutting was attached with the application dated 01.12.2023 showing fire incidence at above said dumpsite.
To investigate the matter the Hon'ble NGT Principal Bench, Delhi constituted a joint committee comprising the District Magistrate, Patna; Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BPCB); and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Committee was directed to visit the site and collect relevant information and submit a compliance report within two months to the Registrar Eastern Zone Bench at Kolkata of Tribunal. District Magistrate, Patna was appointed as Nodal Agency of the said Committee.4
In accordance of above direction, a Joint Committee comprising of following officers carried out the site visit in the Nagar Parishad, Bihta on 28 th October 2024.
1. Shri Manish Kumar, DCLR, Danapur (Representative of the District Magistrate, Patna
2. Shri. Toufic Aslam, Scientist 'C' CPCB, RD KOLKATA
3. Shri Nalini Mohan Singh, Scientist, BSPCB The Complainant was also tried to be contacted but his mobile no. was switched off.
Meeting of the Joint Committee was conducted at the office of BSPCB, Patna on 28.10.2024 at 9:00 a.m. In this meeting issues raised by the Complainant were discussed for better understanding of the issue and an inspection of the site was planned.
Subsequently, the Committee members reached at the site in question and carried out the detailed inspection.
2. Observation during site visit The observations of the Committee are covered under two sections, i.e. information collected from Nagar Parishad Bihta on the subject matter and physical observations at the site.
2.1 Information Provided by Nagar Parishad, Bihta, Patna.
(1) Nagar Parishad, Bihta was formed in the year 2021, previous to that this area was designated as a panchayat. So it is a Newly formed ULBs in the district of Patna, Bihar (2) Population of Nagar Parishad, Bihta as per Census 2011 is 47549 and present population is about 66,036. (3) Door-to-Door Collection, transportation of waste are carried out by 07 vehicles & 30 trolley (thetas). Nearly 14 MT is collected per day and transported to the dumpsite at Kishunpur, Bihta outside the area of Nagar Parishad, Bihta.
Household dustbins are provided to residents to carry out source segregation. Awareness programmes are organized from time-to-time.
(4) For dumping and processing of waste, land is required and so, the Executive Officer, Bihta has requested for a piece of land from Circle Officer, Bihta but no land piece is provided yet.
(5) The site mentioned above is not an active dumping site now. Dumping is stopped at this site from last 6 months. 5 (6) UDHD, Bihar has sent a letter to all ULBs of Bihar to get permission for any tender related to Integrated Solid Waste Management to avoid doubling of Scheme & Wastage of money.
(7) The General body and Empowered Standing Committee of Nagar Parishad, Bihta has passed many resolutions for processing of wet & dry waste, for purchasing machineries, for getting land on lease, for spreading awareness among citizens and for proper monitoring, establishing a Project Monitoring Unit.
(8) Officials of Nagar Parishad Bihta have been trained in Solid Waste Management, so they can comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 in Nagar Parishad, Bihta.
(9) As Nagar Parishad, Bihta is a newly constituted ULB, so it needs time to construct all the necessary infrastructure to carry cut all its planning in a proper way.
The Site mentioned in the application (newspaper article) was on the other side of the Road going to village Lai. The geographical coordinates of the dumping site in Bihta are 25°33'32.7" N 81°52'0.32" E. The google map of the site is enclosed as The dumpsite is located along the periphery of a school i.e, T.P. High School, Bihta.
As reported by Circle Officer, Bihta and Amin, Nagar Parishad Bihta, the description of the Site mentioned in Khatian survey is Khata- 296, Khesra-206, Rakba-1.42 Acre, and it is "Keshre Hind Parti Kadim" Land i.e., Govt. of India/Bharat property.
The dumpsite is an informal/non authorized disposal site being used for municipal waste dumping. As informed by Nagar Parishad Bihta, the site is no longer an active dumping site.
No garbage was found at the site and there was only some scattered waste. Scattered patches of disposed Unsegregated municipal solid waste were observed at 6 the impugned site on the day of inspection; as informed by the Nagar Parishad Bihta & local people there has been no additional dumping at the site from the last six months.
After enquiring from the local people/ by-standers present, it was found that the dumping of waste at this place has been stopped nearly 6 months ago.
No fire incidence was observed on the day of inspection.
3. Conclusion
1. Nagar Parishad, Bihta is newly formed Urban local body.
2. Door to Door Waste Collection is carried out and the waste is transported and dumped for the time being at Kishunpura, Bihta i.e. outside of the Town area. Nagar Parishad Bihta has published a notification to get land on lease for scientific disposal of municipal solid waste.
3. No garbage was dumped at the site except some scattered waste was found.
4. Many resolutions and decisions are passed by General body and ESC (Empowered Standing Committee) of Nagar Parishad, Bihta to abide by the rules of SWM Rules, 2016 & need to be brought in action.
5. No fire incidence is observed on the date of visit.
4. Recommendations:
1. Nagar Parishad, Bihta should ensure processing of waste in accordance of SWM Rules,2016. Further it should be ensured that the segregated components of Solid Waste are disposed off in environmentally sound manner.
2. Nagar Parishad, Bihta should start source segregation and material recovery facility for fresh solid waste in order to deal with the fresh waste in accordance of SWM Rules, 2016.
3. Revenue Department of Government of Bihar to ensure availability of land for scientific processing of waste and also for landfill site.
4. Urban Development and Housing Department of Government of Bihar to ensure to provide permission for solid waste management (composting, Plastic recycling, material recovery facility etc.) to Nagar Parishad Bihta.7
5. Nagar Parishad, Bihta should take all measures to prevent fire incidence.
6. Nagar Parishad, Bihta to ensure to bring to action the resolutions of General body & ESC (Empowered Standing Committee) of Nagar Parishad, Bihta for complying SWM Rules 2016.
7. The land under consideration should be fenced and any kind of garbage disposal further at the Impugned site should be strictly prevented/prohibited by the Nagar Parishad Bihta."
6. The Bihar State Pollution Control Board, Respondent No.3 has filed affidavit dated 05.05.2025 stating therein that the State Board vide its letter dated 06.02.2025 has directed the Executive Officer, Nagar Parishad, Bihta, to file a Report with respect to:
(i) The quantity of legacy waste which was lying on the site;
(ii) The site where legacy waste was disposed of;
(iii) The manner in which legacy waste was disposed; and
(iv) Documentary proof/GPS tagged photo of disposal of legacy waste.
7. It is stated that the Executive Officer, Nagar Parishad, Bihta, submitted his reply dated 11.02.2025 stating that about 15-20 tonnes of legacy waste has been removed which was lying in the area and the said waste has been disposed of in Kishunpur, Bihta. It was further stated that the plastic waste was segregated from the legacy waste before disposing of the legacy waste; the legacy waste has been removed from the site in question but it is stated that the reply of the Executive Officer is silent on the point of remediation of legacy waste. The State Board has also made reference to the order and directions passed by the National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench dated 20.02.2020 passed in O.A. No.606/2018 wherein the Tribunal had, in respect of legacy waste, observed as under:- 8
"Continued failure of every Local Body on the subject of commencing the work of legacy waste sites remediation from 01.04.2020 till compliance will result in liability to pay compensation at the rat of Rs.10 lakh per month per Local Body for population of above 10 lakhs, Rs. 5 lakh per month per Local Body for population between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs and Rs.1 lakh per month per other Local Body."
8. It is also stated that the National Green Tribunal by its order dated 24.05.2023 passed in O.A. No.606/2018 has imposed a fine of Rs.4000 crores on the State of Bihar for not properly disposing of liquid and solid waste. Reference has been made to the observations of the Tribunal in para-67 of the said order which reads as under:-
"In view of above, considering the statement about gap in sewage generation and treatment and also gap in solid waste management, we levy compensation of Rs.4,000/- crores on the State on polluter pays principle for its failure in scientifically managing the liquid and solid waste in violation of mandate of law, particularly judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and this Tribunal. The amount may be kept in a ring-fenced account within two months to be operated as per directions of the Chief Secretary only for waste management (liquid and solid) in the State in the light of above observations. The amount be utilized for setting up solid waste processing facilities, remediation of legacy waste and setting up of STPs and FSSTPs so there remains no gap. Better alternatives to utilize the wet waste for composting at appropriate locations be explored. The scale of expenditure of STPs may be reviewed in the light of realistic expenses involved in decentralized/traditional systems or otherwise."
9. In the affidavit of the State Board, it is further stated that the Urban Development and Housing Department, Govt. of Bihar vide its letter No.1026 dated 18.03.2025 has enquired from the State Board as to whether in the light of Environmental Compensation of Rs.4,000 crores imposed by the Tribunal on the State of Bihar by a judicial order for not properly handling the solid and liquid waste, additional Environmental Compensation on account of individual defaults can be 9 legally imposed, or whether such violation will be covered by the Environmental Compensation of Rs.4,000 crores. It is stated that the State Board has requested the Urban Development and Housing Department, Govt. of Bihar to seek legal opinion in the matter and the State Board will take action for imposition of Environmental Compensation on the Nagar Parishad, Bihta in the light of the said legal opinion under Section 31A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
10. Though, the stand taken by the Nagar Parishad, Bihta, is that it was established as a new Parishad in 2021 as and Urban Local Body but that will not absolve the said Nagar Parishad from taking steps for disposal of solid and liquid waste in terms of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. It was the duty of the Nagar Parishad to have immediately identified a suitable landfill site for the purpose and send a recommendation to the State Government/Revenue Department for allotment of the said land for a landfill site.
11. Be that as it may, as of date it is stand of the Respondents is that there is no legacy waste at the existing dumping site and no dumping has taken place in the area for the last six months.
12. We, therefore, dispose of this Original Application with a direction to the Nagar Parishad, Bihta, to ensure that a landfill site is created strictly as per siting criteria prescribed in Schedule I to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and that steps for treatment of legacy waste as per the Rules, 2016 is taken up immediately to prevent accumulation of legacy waste.
13. So far as the Environmental Compensation and the recovery thereof is concerned, we direct the Bihar State Pollution Control Board to take action in this regard as per law having regard to the directions issued by the National Green Tribunal in O.A. No.606/2018.
14. I.As. if any, stand disposed of accordingly. 10
15. There shall be no order as to costs.
..................................... B. Amit Sthalekar, JM ............................................. Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM May 08, 2025, Original Application No.206/2024/EZ (Earlier O.A. No.901/2024/EZ) AK & MN 11