National Green Tribunal Directs Rajasthan To Deposit 100 Crore In The Case Of Hazardous Industrial Pollution

The principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an interim compensation of Rs. 100 crore on Rajasthan for damaging the environment, including pollution of the Dravyavati river caused by textile printing industries in the Jaipur district.

The bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (Chairperson), Justice Sudhir Agarwal, Dr. A Senthil Vel and Dr. Afroz Ahmad (Expert Members) said, “It appears that there is no environmental rule of law in the area. This calls for emergent action in a mission mode at higher level to remedy the situation and to fix accountability for such failure of the administration in collusion with law violators. The erring industries operating without consents or in violation of consent conditions need to be stopped and made accountable…”

The Tribunal was hearing two combined applications that raised the common issue of environmental norm violations by industries engaged in textile printing business in the Jaipur district of Rajasthan.It was alleged that these violations adversely affect the water quality of the Dravyavati River and the quality of vegetables and other crops grown on nearby farms.

The applications claimed that the CETP for treating effluent from industries is inadequate, despite earlier directions from the Rajasthan High Court and Supreme Court, including the case of Vijay Singh Punia v. RPCB & Ors. (High Court) and the Sanganer Kapda Rangai Chhapai Association case (Supreme Court).

It was stated that there are a total of 835 textile units, with 775 units located on agricultural land and 60 on commercial plots. Consequently, untreated effluents are being discharged into the river in violation of the law, and no action has been taken against these rampant violations.

The applicant also claimed that the State Pollution Control Board has failed to prepare a comprehensive plan to monitor compliance with environmental norms.

In August 2022, the Tribunal constituted a joint committee comprising the CPCB, State PCB, and District Magistrate of Jaipur to visit the site and provide a factual report on the actions taken in the matter.

In February 2023, the report was filed which acknowledged patent continuing violations without any meaningful action showing failure of rule of law.

Thereafter, various violations came to light during inspections of 1255 units located in the Paliwal Gardan, Khatri Nagar, Jaipur Gate, Shikarpura Road, Diggi-Malpura Road, Muhana Road, Namdev Colony, Nevta Dam, and Brahmano Ki Gwar clusters. Almost all of these units were found to be non-compliant. The CETP has not been functional since 2019, as the CETP operator stopped work due to a payment dispute.

It was also found that textile units are discharging wastewater into canals through underground pipelines, and hundreds of pump sets have been placed along the drains to draw wastewater for agricultural purposes.

The Tribunal opined the industrial siting has been faulty and most of the industries appear to be located in non- conforming areas.

After considering the material on record and hearing the parties, the NGT found that it appears that there is no “environmental rule of law” in the area. The severity of this situation calls for immediate action at a higher level to rectify the issue and hold those responsible for administrative failure and collusion with law violators accountable.

The industries that have been found to operate without proper consent or in violation of consent conditions must be stopped and held accountable for past violations using the "Polluter Pays" principle or other legal means, taking into account the expected cost of remediation and the financial capacity of the units, as per the law, the Tribunal opined.

“As per public trust doctrine, higher authorities in the State have to rise to the occasion to protect environment and public health instead of being mute spectator as appears to be unfortunately happening”, the NGT stated.

The Tribunal, having considered the damage to the environment, including (i) deterioration of water quality in the Dravyavati River, Chandalai and Nevta Dams, and the formation of cess pools, (ii) damage to soil and agriculture by trade effluents, (iii) the non-functionality of CETP, and (iv) inadequate functional STPs, has directed the State of Rajasthan to pay an interim compensation of Rs. 100 crores.

This amount must be deposited in a separate account, with the liberty to recover the amount from the violating units and erring officers, the Tribunal directed.

To plan and oversee remedial action in the interest of protecting the environment, the NGT has constituted a ten-member joint committee to be headed by the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan. The other members will be Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries of Agriculture, Irrigation, Environment & Forest, Revenue of the Government of Rajasthan, a nominee of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Integrated Regional Office of MoEF&CC in Jaipur, the District Magistrate, and the State PCB.

It is further directed to file an interim action taken report in the matter within three months.

The matter will now be taken up on 18 July.

Case Title: Salman Qasmi v. State of Rajasthan

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