The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Century Pulp and Paper Ltd to pay Rs 30 lakh as environmental compensation for failing to manage pollution caused due to effluents discharged into a local water stream from its paper mill in Nainital.
A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said release of effluents exceeding the permissible norms were bound to cause environmental imbalance placing the flora and fauna under illegitimate stress.
Environmental imbalance
“The effluents exceeding the permissible norms being released in the environment are bound to cause environmental imbalance placing the flora and fauna under illegitimate stress and in the long run such effluents are bound to have deleterious effect on the environment.
“Considering the period of industrial activity and the volume of daily effluent generated, we are of the considered opinion that the respondent no.6 paper industry (Century Pulp and Paper Ltd) is liable to pay damages of Rs 30 lakh,” the Bench said.
Besides this, the tribunal also directed the firm to pay Rs. three lakh cost to applicant Gauri Maulekhi who had filed a petition seeking to restrain the paper industry from allegedly discharging harmful toxic effluents without any treatment and disposing wastes in forest and other revenue areas.
The Bench also constituted a team of senior scientists from the department of Environment Science, University of Jammu, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and IIT Roorkee, to carry out survey and study of the area and the Gola river to ascertain environmental degradation caused and also suggest remedial measures for restoration of environment.
“The team so constituted shall carry out such study and submit its findings to respondent no 2 State of Uttarakhand within three months and respondent no 2 shall carry out such remedial measures and submit its compliance report before us within next two months,” the green panel said.
It said the paper industry shall credit the Rs 30 lakh environmental compensation to Environment Relief Fund established under the NGT Act 2010 for being utilised for the purposes of restitution of the environment in Lal Kuan area of district Nainital in Uttarakhand.
Toxic effluents
In the application, Mulekhi had alleged that the firm had established a paper mill in 1984 in Nainital and huge flow of untreated toxic effluent was flushed out of the plant from its eastern side into the local stream which has been a source of drinking water and irrigation for nearby villagers.
It alleged that the local stream joins Gola river which ultimately flows into Ram Ganga, a tributary of river Ganga.
Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) told the tribunal that the paper industry had in place full fledged effluent treatment plant with primary, secondary and tertiary systems.
The paper industry contested the application raising preliminary objections about its maintainability and asserted that it had adopted complete scheme for treatment of effluent and for water conservation.
Allegation denied
Denying the allegations levelled in the application, the firm said it has efficient effluent treatment plant capable of giving primary, secondary and tertiary treatment to effluent generated and discharged from the industry and the efficacy of the treatment given was being strictly monitored with the aid of well—equipped environmental laboratories.
Referring to the report of the joint inspection team, the tribunal said Gola river water quality had showed significant pollution levels at Pullbhatta.
“Significantly, joint inspection report made a comment that respondent no. six paper industry had a poor record of pollution control in the past, i.e prior to the year 2011.
Except the denial, the respondent no six paper industry has nothing much to comment as regard this observations made by the joint inspection team,” the bench said.
It also directed Century Pulp and Paper Ltd to comply with the recommendations made by the joint inspection team in its March 2015 report within a period of three months.— PTI
Rs. 30 lakh environmental compensation will be utilised for the restitution of the environment in Lal Kuan area of Nainital
Published - May 09, 2016 12:00 am IST
