J&K: Municipalities In Kashmir Face Final NGT Ultimatum On River Pollution; Hefty Penalties For Non-Compliance

The NGT has given four weeks time to the municipalities to file a comprehensive response while hearing a plea by activist Dr Raja Muzaffer Bhat.

Srinagar: In a stern order, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a final warning to the municipal bodies of Chadoora, Budgam, and Srinagar in Kashmir valley to address severe pollution in Kashmir's Doodh Ganga and Mamath Kull streams, demanding accountability for untreated sewage and poor waste management practices. The tribunal has given the municipalities four weeks to file a comprehensive response, highlighting that the delay in addressing pollution has persisted despite three years of hearings and more than ten proceedings.

During the recent hearing by NGT's Principal bench, led by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel, criticized the municipalities for failing to provide full details of waste generation, treatment capacity, and future plans to reach 100 percent waste treatment. Emphasizing that this is the last opportunity for the local bodies to comply, the NGT ordered each municipality to deposit Rs 10,000 with the Tribunal's Registrar General within a week.

The case (241/2021), initiated by environmental activist Dr Raja Muzaffer Bhat on September 17, 2021, who accused the municipalities of violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by allowing untreated sewage and solid waste to enter the rivers. The application highlights a long-standing environmental hazard that Bhat argues is deteriorating Kashmir's water quality and violating citizens' rights to a clean environment.

The NGT's recent directives follow significant environmental compensation fines imposed on the municipalities for ongoing pollution. According to the Tribunal's records, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) faces a fine of Rs 41.47 crore for discharging 12.25 million liters per day of untreated sewage into Doodh Ganga over 1,327 days. Budgam and Chadoora municipalities have also been fined Rs 3.72 crore and Rs 1.41 crore, respectively, for failing to implement proper waste disposal measures over 1,267 days.

A report by the Jammu & Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (J&KPCC), submitted on October 22, 2024, underscores these lapses, detailing inadequate responses from municipal authorities and outlining their failure to fulfill past orders aimed at improving waste management practices. J&KPCC Member Secretary Ghansham Singh indicated that show-cause notices have been issued to the municipal leaders, with action now underway to recover the environmental compensation levied against them.

The Tribunal underscored that local authorities have consistently delayed addressing pollution, neglecting to file separate responses with detailed data on waste production and treatment capacities.

"We find that there is a gross violation by the local bodies in Chadoora, Budgam, and Srinagar, but no detailed response has been filed," the Tribunal noted. It expressed frustration with the municipalities' delays, stating, "This matter has been pending for the last three years and has been taken up at least ten times, yet full particulars have not come on record till now."

Counsel G.M. Kawoosa, representing the local municipalities, requested a four-week extension to prepare a full response, which the Tribunal conditionally granted. The municipalities' upcoming submission must include exhaustive data on sewage generation, treatment capabilities, and a clear plan to achieve complete waste treatment in compliance with the Tribunal's orders.

In anticipation of the next hearing on February 18, 2025, the NGT has instructed the J&KPCC to submit a follow-up report on the actions taken to curb pollution in Doodh Ganga and Mamath Kull. The report is to be filed a week before the hearing, underscoring the Tribunal’s commitment to closely monitor compliance with its orders.