NGT fines Amritsar chemical unit ₹1 crore, pulls up PPCB for inaction
Green tribunal orders criminal prosecution of directors of polluting chemical dye manufacturing unit and says PPCB failed to take appropriate action despite frequent, flagrant violations
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Saturday imposed an interim penalty of ₹1 crore on a polluting chemical factory in Amritsar and ordered its closure while pulling up the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) for ignoring “flagrant violations” by industrial units.
In a detailed directive, the NGT four-judge bench, led by chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, ordered the criminal prosecution of the directors of chemical dyes manufacturer M/s Amar Colour Chem India at Focal Point, Amritsar, and took strong exception to the PPCB looking the other way in the face of pollution norm violations.
The judgment said, “The polluting industry has continuously violated environmental laws and the PPCB has also failed to take appropriate action against it despite such frequent, repeated and flagrant violations on the part of the respondent.”
Ordering the closure of the factory, the bench observed, “Since the industry is running its establishment in such a manner so as to violate environmental laws and norms, and hence an order of closure of unit till all violations are removed, would be justified by application of precautionary principle as contemplated under Section 20 of NGT Act, 2010.”
Recommending the criminal prosecution of the factory owners, the bench said, “Violation of environmental laws is also an offence. In our view, the polluting industry is also liable to face punitive action. The regulatory authority must initiate criminal prosecution for past violations as well as continued violations, as the case may be, by lodging criminal complaints under the provisions of the Water Act, 1974, the Air Act, 1981, and Environment Protection Act, 1986.”
Referring to the polluter pays principle, the bench said, “We find it appropriate to impose an interim environmental compensation of ₹1 crore for two years i.e., 2022-23 and 2023-24. The final compensation shall be determined by the PPCB after collecting relevant information from all concerned stakeholders, including the respondent.”
Petitioners Kapil Dev and Jaskirat Singh, who are members of the Public Action Committee, said, “This is a landmark order and need of the hour. The NGT is strict against polluters and has imposed heavy penalty which may further increase after assessment. The polluters in Punjab who were colluding with the corrupt PPCB since long cannot run from the law anymore.”
The bench constituted a high-powered committee, comprising the regional director, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, Chandigarh, and representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the PPCB. The CPCB would be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance to inspect the industrial site and if it finds violation of environmental norms, submit a report to the member secretary, PPCB, whereupon appropriate action for closure of the industry shall be taken till all violations are removed.
Another petitioner, Kuldeep Singh Khaira, said, “The situation is so bad that the PPCB has become habitual of protecting polluters and we need drastic measures.”
Amandeep Singh Bains, who is also a petitioner, said: “We demand that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann scrap and reconstitute the PPCB as there is no hope from its current set of officers and leadership.”
When contacted, PPCB executive engineer, Amritsar, Sukhdev Singh said, “The board has already imposed a penalty of ₹8.37 lakh on the industrial unit for violations. We have informed the NGT in this regard.”
