New Delhi: Observing that two Uttar Pradesh civic bodies had "flagrantly violated" the rules by failing to prevent the discharge of pollutants in the Yamuna, the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday imposed a fine of more than Rs 65 crore on the municipal corporations of Agra and Mathura-Vrindavan.
The green panel was hearing two petitions regarding the pollution of the Yamuna in Agra and Mathura-Vrindavan because of the discharge of untreated sewage.
A bench of National Green Tribunal Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said, "We have no hesitation in holding that protection of water ecology of river Yamuna and its cleanliness was the statutory and constitutional obligation of the state (it) but has miserably failed to perform it."
"The statutory bodies like local bodies in Agra and Mathura-Vrindavan have failed in the prevention of a discharge of polluted material in river Yamuna and allowed its pollution by discharging huge quantity of polluted sewer therein," the bench, also comprising Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member A Senthil Vel, said.
In a 200-page judgment, the bench said the nagar nigams (municipal corporations) of both places and the agencies operating their sewage treatment plants (STPs) violated provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act by not preventing the discharge.
The Agra civic body also violated the act by operating two STPs set up without requisite consent, the tribunal said. "There is a flagrant violation of the provisions of the Water Act on the part of the authorities concerned and they are liable for consequential, preventive, punitive and remedial action," it said.
"River Yamuna has gone polluted not by an act of God but it is man-made. More so, due to negligence, lack of sincerity, concern and reverence to the river on the part of the authorities who are continuously discharging polluted material through sewage directly," the tribunal added.
It said based on the "polluter pays principle", the Agra nagar nigam is liable to pay environment compensation of Rs 58,39,20,000 (Rs 58.39 crore) while the Mathura-Vrindavan nagar nigam is liable to pay Rs.7,20,10,000 (Rs 7.20 crore).
The total Rs 65,59,30,000 (Rs 65.59 crore) amount has to be deposited by the municipal corporations to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) within three months, the tribunal said.
"The amount of environmental compensation shall be used for remediation/rejuvenation/restoration of the environment in the Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan regions based on a rejuvenation plan which shall be prepared jointly by a joint committee comprising the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board), UPPCB and the concerned district magistrates," the tribunal said.
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