The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed costs of ₹50,000 on the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for failing to comply for over a year with its direction to transfer ₹8 lakh in environmental compensation for afforestation in Nilothi village, Delhi. The Tribunal termed the explanation for the delay “wholly unreasonable and unacceptable” and cautioned against the “widely prevalent tendency” of non-compliance with its orders.
In November 2023, the NGT had directed the DPCC to release ₹8 lakh, collected as environmental compensation from four illegal stone-crushing units in Nilothi village, to the Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of NCT of Delhi. The amount was to be utilised for afforestation in the affected area.
The DPCC informed the Tribunal that the transfer was delayed due to the shifting of its office. The matter came up before a bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad in an order dated January 8, which was made public on Tuesday.
Rejecting the justification, the bench observed:
“We find the reasons given for the delay of more than one year in the transfer of the amount by DPCC to the Department of Forest and Wildlife, GNCTD, to be wholly unreasonable and unacceptable.”
The Tribunal underscored that non-compliance with its orders constitutes an offence and noted that even the Chairman and Member Secretary of the DPCC could be liable for prosecution for such violations. However, the bench stated that it was taking a lenient view and refrained from initiating prosecution.
To address what it described as a recurring pattern of non-compliance accompanied by “lame excuses,” the NGT imposed costs of ₹50,000 on the DPCC. The Tribunal noted that the delay had caused inconvenience and hindered timely remediation of environmental damage.
The DPCC has been directed to deposit the cost amount in addition to ensuring compliance with the earlier order regarding the transfer of funds for afforestation.
