The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the chief secretary of Punjab to regularly submit six-monthly reports on the tangible advancements in managing solid and liquid waste in the state. Pointing out deficiencies in waste management, the NGT had earlier imposed an environmental compensation of Rs 2,080 crore on the state for its failure to treat and remediate solid and liquid waste.
In a September order last year, the tribunal directed the concerned authorities to deposit the specified amount in a separate ring-fenced account for restoration measures and to submit half-yearly reports.
The NGT Chairperson, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, along with judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, noted that while progress reports were submitted on 15 May and 20 October this year, the mandated six-monthly report was not filed.
The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the second report, highlighting that 31.46 metric tonnes of legacy waste remained unremediated, and there was no treatment capacity for 326.58 million litres per day of sewage. Consequently, the tribunal deemed it necessary to request information on solid and sewage management, including generation and treatment specifics for each city and town, with a time-bound action plan to ensure complete processing.
The bench acknowledged the committee formed by the chief secretary in November last year to address gaps in sewage and solid waste management but emphasized that it did not absolve the chief secretary of the responsibility to comply with the tribunal’s order for filing six-monthly progress reports. The NGT stated, “Hence, further six-monthly progress reports with verifiable progress be filed by the Chief Secretary.” The matter is scheduled for further proceedings on 30 May.