Supreme Court Stays NGT Order Directing Punjab Government To Pay 1,026 Crores For Failure To Treat Sewage Waste

The Supreme Court on Friday (September 20) stayed the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which directed the state of Punjab to pay 1,026 Crores to the Central Pollution Control Board as environment compensation for failure to manage legacy waste and untreated sewage.

The bench CJI DY Chandrachud comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing an appeal by Punjab Government against the NGT order dated July 25, 2024.

The bench while issuing notice to the Union and thr CPCB observed the following:

“Issue notice, returnable in four weeks.

In the meantime, the directions which have been issued against the State of Punjab in the impugned order dated 25 July 2024 passed by the National Green Tribunal in OA No 606 of 2018, shall remain stayed.”

The impugned order took serious note of repeated failures by the state of Punjab in maintaining the solid and liquid water treatment procedures. It noted that large amounts of untreated sewage waste was entering and polluting the rivers of Beas, Sutlej and Ghaggar.

It was observed that while the state generated 2,212 million liters of waste per day(MLD), it still lagged behind by 326.56 MLD in its treatment capacity.

The NGT directed the Chief Secretary of Punjab to pay the compensation amount and file updated progress reports for the action taken for the waste treatment and show cause as to why further action should not be taken against the officials responsible for the violations.

The NGT is scheduled to hear the matter on September 27.

Counsels for State of Punjab : Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv.; Mr. Gurminder Singh Advocate General , Sr. Adv.; Mr. Sandeep Bajaj, A.A.G.; Ms. Baani Khanna, AOR; Mr. Robin Singh, Adv.; Mr. Rohit Kumar, Adv.; Mr. Govinda Choudhary, Adv.; Mr. Mayank Biyani, Adv.; Mr. Siddharth Seem, Adv.

Case details : State of Punjab v UOI Civil Appeal No.10602/2024