COURTESY TOI JAN 4
NGT seeks ATR on dumping of garbage in HP village
MC, Pollution Control Board To Submit Report Within 30 Days
Anand.Bodh@timesgroup.com
Shimla:
Taking note of illegal dumping of garbage in Sudher village near the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) workshop, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed Dharamshala Municipal Corporation and Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) to jointly look into the matter. They have been asked to furnish an action taken report within one month of the date of receipt of the order.
Action was taken on a letter written by Sunita Thakur, pradhan, Bageshwari Mahila Mandal, Sudher, saying that illegal dumping of garbage in violation of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 is affecting public health. The letter, which is being treated as an application, alleges that the garbage dumped in the village is a health hazard.
Hearing the matter on Wednesday, NGT’s principal bench, headed by chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel observed that the applicant has also annexed the letter of HRTC, Dharamshala division, dated June 26 last year to the commissioner, municipal corporation, Dharamshala; letter of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited dated July 2, 2016 to the commissioner, municipal corporation, Dharamshala and letter of the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation Limited, Directorate (North), Dharamshala dated August 29 last year to the commissioner, municipal corporation, Dharamshala to the same effect.
“Let the municipal corporation, Dharamshala and Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) jointly look into the matter and furnish an action taken report on factual aspects of the matter to this Tribunal within one month of the date of receipt of copy of this order,” it added.
The Tribunal said HPSPCB would be the nodal agency to coordinate and comply with the order. “Needless to say, the order of the National Green Tribunal is binding as a decree of Court and non-compliance is actionable by way of punitive action including prosecution, in terms of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010,” it added