Fire near dumpsite: NGT directs Ludhiana MC to deposit ₹100cr after 7 charred to death

Ludhiana : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) to deposit ₹100 crore as interim compensation with the district magistrate in an incident wherein seven persons were charred to death in a fire near main dumpsite on Tajpur road in April this year and failure of the authorities in complying with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Seven members, including five children, of a ragpicker family were charred to death after a fire broke out in their shanty situated near the main dumpsite of the MC on April 20.

The deceased were identified as Suresh (55), his wife Rona Rani (50), and their children Rakhi (15), Manisha (10), Chandini (5), Geeta (6) and Sunny (2). The elder son Rajesh (17) had a providential escape as he was sleeping in a nearby shanty with his friend

The NGT said the amount should be deposited towards interim compensation within a month to be kept in a separate account and utilised for remedial measures in terms of the report which will be overseen by a monitoring committee.

In its orders dated July 25, the NGT has held the civic body liable to pay compensation of ₹57.5 lakh to next of kin of the deceased. The compensation has to be given by way of deposit with the district magistrate (deputy commissioner) within one month. The compensation has been announced with a preponderance of probabilities that death of seven persons is attributable to fire of the dumpsite. Over 25-30 lakh metric tonnes (legacy waste) of garbage is accumulated at the main dump site of MC and frequent fire incidents are reported at the landfill site.

The tribunal further stated that if the MC is unable to make such a deposit, it may be done by the state government. Further, it is open to MC to recover the amount from those contributing to the garbage or those who failed to perform their duties, as per law.

The tribunal has also directed the authorities, including MC, deputy commissioner, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and chief secretary to submit an action taken report within two months. It has been stated that Punjab chief secretary is scheduled to appear in the tribunal through video-conferencing on August 18.

Acting suo motu on the incident wherein seven members of a family were charred to death on April 20, NGT had on April 21 issued notice to the chief secretary to explain the reason for state failure in complying with solid waste rules 2016. In the orders issued on July 25, the NGT has also stated that no response was received in this regard from the state.

It has been stated that the monitoring committee of the NGT, during its visit to the site after the incident, also highlighted the failure of MC in taking up solid waste management resulting in damage to environment and public health. Also, frequent fire incidents are reported at the spot adding to the pollution and health related problems. PPCB has also imposed environment compensation on MC of ₹4 crore on MC in the past over poor solid waste management.

When contacted, mayor Balkar Sandhu said MC is already working to deal with the legacy waste. He said detailed discussions will be done by officials on Wednesday, following which they will decide the further course of action in this regard.

MC commissioner Shena Aggarwal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

The compensation to the next of the kin is assessed at ₹57.5 lakh --- ₹10 lakh each for persons aged above 50 --- and ₹7.5 lakh each for persons below 20. “We direct that the district magistrate may deposit the amount with a bank with the direction that a sum of ₹5 lakh be paid immediately to the sole surviving male member of the family and the remaining be kept in fixed deposit, to be paid at ₹5 lakh every year with accrued interest till the entire amount is disbursed,” the bench added.