In a significant reprieve for the Punjab government, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that had directed the state to pay over Rs 1,000 crore in environmental compensation. This penalty was imposed due to the state’s failure to effectively manage legacy waste and untreated sewage.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and including Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notices to the Central Government and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), seeking their responses on the matter. The state government had filed an appeal against the NGT’s order, which was argued by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi.
The NGT, on July 25, had mandated the chief secretary of Punjab to deposit an amount of Rs. 10,261,908,000 with the CPCB within one month. The order was a culmination of various notices and opportunities previously given to the state, which the NGT noted had not been sufficiently acted upon. The tribunal expressed its frustration, stating, “Repeated orders have been passed from time to time giving opportunity to State of Punjab in the hope and trust that it will take serious, substantial and urgent steps to comply with provisions of Environmental Laws and in particular Section 24 of Water Act, 1974 but we are at pain to observe that State of Punjab has miserably failed in showing such compliance or any bonafide intention of compliance.”
The NGT’s stern admonition highlighted a “recurring, consistent and persistent defiance and non-compliance of environmental laws on the part of State of Punjab,” which prompted it to consider “stringent, punitive and preventive action/order.”
