The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recommended making adverse entries in the annual confidential reports of the chief executive officer (CEO) of local bodies and senior functionaries in the Department of Urban Development for their failure to carry out remediation of legacy waste (old waste).
Continued failure of every local body on the subject of commencing the work of remediation of the legacy waste sites from April 1 this year till compliance will result in liability to pay compensation at the rate of ₹10 lakh per month per local body (for population of above 10 lakh), ₹5 lakh per month (population between 5 lakh and 10 lakh), and ₹1 lakh per month for other local bodies, says an order issued by a Bench headed by NGT chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.
If the local bodies are unable to bear the financial burden, the liability will be of the State government with liberty to take remedial action against the erring local bodies. Apart from compensation, adverse entries must be made in the annual confidential reports of the CEO of the local bodies and other senior functionaries in the Department of Urban Development who are responsible for compliance with orders of this tribunal, it says.
Monitoring cell
The Bench suggests setting up an ‘Environment Monitoring Cell’ at the office of Chief Secretaries of all States/Union Territories for coordination and compliance with the directives issued by the tribunal.
At present, processing of waste generated and collected is not taking place regularly. For any person travelling on train, hotspots of scattered garbage and overflowing sewage are common sights, it points out.
