The Supreme Court has provided temporary relief to the Nagar Panchayat in Farid Nagar, Ghaziabad, by staying a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that imposed a ₹2.61 crore fine and mandated criminal action for environmental non-compliance. The apex court’s decision comes in response to the Panchayat’s failure to prevent encroachment and pollution of local water bodies.
A bench led by Justice Abhay S. Oka, which also includes Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, paused the fine and the directive for criminal proceedings initially ordered by the NGT. The tribunal had sought enforcement measures from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) due to the Panchayat’s inaction in establishing a sewage treatment plant (STP) to treat waste contaminating village ponds.
The Supreme Court’s order, pronounced on March 17 and recently made public, directed the Panchayat to work with the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to devise and implement remedial measures for the preservation of water bodies. The court facilitated this by allowing the Panchayat to apply for state funds to engage NEERI’s services.
Advocate Sumeer Sodhi represented the Panchayat, which challenged the NGT’s August 23, 2024, ruling. The NGT had acted on a petition by the environmental NGO Paryavaran Mitra, which highlighted significant encroachments and pollution in the ponds spread over 11 hectares in Farid Nagar. The UPPCB disclosed that the area generated 1.75 million litres of waste daily, leading to the calculation of the ₹2.61 crore penalty.
Despite issuing show-cause notices to 57 individuals for encroaching on the pond and seeking eviction through the sub-divisional magistrate of Modi Nagar, the Panchayat argued before the NGT that it lacked the necessary funds to establish an STP. They also presented a detailed project report prepared by Jal Nigam that estimated the cost of setting up an STP and sewer network at over ₹19 crore, well beyond their financial reach.
