The J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC), following the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), has imposed a penalty of over Rs 41.67 crores on the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for environment violation.
The official order no. 33-JKPCC of 2024, dated 19.10.2024, was submitted to the NGT, directing the Commissioner of SMC to deposit this amount into JKPCC’s bank account within 30 days.
This action was taken as part of an assessment of environmental compensation under the polluter pays principle (PPP) in the case of Raja Muzaffar Bhat v/s J&K Government and others.
The SMC established 6 to 8 pumping stations after the 2014 floods with World Bank funds for flood water mitigation on Doodh Ganga at Chanapora, Natipora, Barzulla, Bulbul Bagh, and Tengpora. However, these pump houses were reported to be discharging untreated waste into Doodh Ganga, violating the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act – 1974. Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat brought this matter to the NGT under OA No: 241/2021 through his counsel, Advocate Rahul Chowdhary. The tribunal initially imposed a Rs 1 crore interim penalty on SMC, along with similar penalties on MC Chadoora and MC Budgam, and a Rs 1 crore penalty on the District Mineral Officer Budgam for failing to control illegal riverbed mining in Doodh Ganga.
Later, an additional Rs 32 crores penalty was imposed on the Government, with all funds intended for Doodh Ganga restoration. The Government also received administrative approval for a Rs 140 crore project to set up several Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) on Doodh Ganga. However, the Executive Engineer, UEED, faced delays in inviting tenders for Rs 46 crores due to the Revenue Department not providing land.
In April, the NGT directed JKPCC to impose environmental compensation on SMC, followed by another order on 10.07.2024.
The NGT's previous order stated, “The above sequence of events clearly revealed that though substantial time has passed since the initial order, no serious efforts have been made by local authorities. Hence, the only option left is to impose Environmental Compensation (EC) on the violators for continuous violation of environmental norms.”
In its order dated 19.10.2024, the Member Secretary of JKPCC directed the Commissioner of SMC to deposit the penalty amount within 30 days into the JKPCC EC fund account. The order reads: “In compliance with the directions of the Hon’ble NGT dated 10.07.2024 in OA 241/2021, Environmental Compensation amounting to Rs 41,47,61000 is hereby levied upon Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation on the basis of the Polluter Pays Principle, with the advice to deposit the EC in the Environmental Compensation Fund Account No: 0023040510000001 of JKPCC in J&K Bank within 30 days.”
Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat, the petitioner in this case, stated, “I am grateful to the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal for addressing our concerns, as there has been a failure in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and other Government institutions in recent years. The officers who allowed these constructions and pump stations should be ide