The Supreme Court has stayed a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order imposing a hefty fine of ₹2.6 crore on a Nagar Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district for failing to protect local water bodies from encroachment and pollution.
A bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka also halted the tribunal’s directive for the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to initiate criminal proceedings against the Farid Nagar Panchayat for failing to set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) to clean garbage and toxic waste from village ponds.
The order, passed on March 17 but made public now, ensured that the objective of the NGT order is achieved by directing the panchayat to engage the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to recommend measures for the water bodies.
Based on this undertaking, the bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, held, “In the meanwhile, direction of NGT, Principal Bench (New Delhi), for payment of environmental compensation and the direction issued in terms of paragraph 32 (for initiation of criminal case) shall remain stayed.”
The court allowed the panchayat to seek state funding to engage NEERI.
Represented by advocate Sumeer Sodhi, the panchayat challenged NGT’s August 23, 2024, order, which imposed a ₹2.61 crore fine, arguing that the liability of maintaining encroachment-free water bodies should not be imposed solely on the panchayat.
The NGT order came on a petition moved by NGO Paryavaran Mitra pointing to large-scale encroachment of ponds in Farid Nagar which cover an area of over 11 hectares. It flagged pollution concerns, including waste accumulation affecting both residents and animals.
UPPCB had informed the tribunal that Farid Nagar generates 1.75 million litres of waste daily. The penalty was calculated based on a charge of one paisa per litre per day for the period from July 1, 2020, to July 31, 2024 — a total of 1,492 days — resulting in an environmental compensation figure of ₹2.61 crore.
The local body had told NGT that it did not have the funds to set up an STP. Though it issued show cause notice to 57 individuals encroaching upon the pond, the panchayat approached the sub-divisional magistrate of Modi Nagar to initiate eviction proceedings against the defaulters.
Even the UPPCB acknowledged to NGT that the panchayat had limited resources and could not restore the ponds independently. The panchayat had also consulted Jal Nigam authorities, who prepared a detailed project report to address waterlogging issues. Setting up an STP and sewer network was estimated to cost over ₹19 crore, far beyond the panchayat’s financial capacity.
Seeking a stay on the NGT order, the petition argued, “While environmental compliance is crucial, the approach to achieving it must be realistic… Such punitive orders ought not to have been passed against the Panchayat since they have a very minimal role in approvals and establishing STPs.”
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for April 25, seeking responses from the NGO that moved NGT, the UP government, and UPPCB.
Leave a Reply