SC Stays NGT Order Asking Maha Govt To Pay Rs 12,000 Cr For Improper Waste Management

The Supreme Court has put on hold the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 12,000 crore for improper waste management.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday put on stay the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order directing the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 12,000 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid and liquid waste, reported ANI. The Maharashtra government approached the apex court challenging the September 2022 order of the NGT that asked it to pay a hefty amount of Rs 12,000 crore.

The NGT bench had called the decision necessary to "remedy the continuing damage to the environment". It said that fixing liability was "necessary for restoration". "Without fixing quantified liability necessary for restoration, mere passing of orders has not shown any tangible results in the last eight years (for solid waste management) and five years (for liquid waste management), even after expiry of statutory/ laid down timelines," the bench had said, quoted Business Standard.

The NGT had determined the compensation in respect of the gap in the treatment of liquid waste to be about Rs 10,840 crore, and in respect of un-remediated legacy waste to be around Rs 1,200 crore, totalling about Rs 12,000 crore, the report added.

The bench also asked the state government to deposit the amount in a separate ring-fenced account to be operated according to the directions of the chief secretary and utilised for restoration measures. "Compliance will be the responsibility of the chief secretary," the bench said.

The restoration measures for sewage management would include establishing sewage treatment and utilisation systems, upgrading systems/operations to ensure full capacity utilisation, ensuring compliance with standards, including those for faecal coliform, and establishing proper faecal sewage and sludge management in rural areas, it further said, quoted the report.

NGT said the solid waste management action plan involves the establishment of required waste processing units as well as the rehabilitation of 84 sites that have been overlooked.