A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said there is no ground to modify the July 17 order.
NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal informed that there is no scope for any modification in its order. The issued order had asked Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) to contribute Rs 20 crore for clearing garbage dumps at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla landfill sites
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel informed that no modifications can be made on the July 17 order
The bench later said that DCB has the leeway to discuss “any other appropriate arrangements” with the Chief Secretary.
The panel also said that there is an imbalance between the amount that DCB has to contribute and the proportion of garbage that it generates. Despite that, the panel had issued the order after careful considerations and discussions with the Chief Secretary.
“Thus even though the liability of DCB may only be for Okhla dump site where garbage from Cantonment is dumped, it is appropriate that the DCB contributes such amount to the huge cost of removing garbage for better air quality of Delhi which is affected by other dump sites also,” the bench said in a recent order.
The clearing of these dumping sites would render cleaner air for people residing in the national capital.
DCB had filed a plea to the tribunal asking for modifications in the order that the green panel had issued. The order demanded a remedial cost of Rs 10 crore. Rs 5 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively towards clearing of landfills in different dumping grounds in the city to curb pollution.
The NGT had earlier contacted the AAP government and other civic bodies. An amount of Rs 250 crore was asked to be deposited in an escrow account. This amount would then have been used for waste removal processes from landfill sites across the city. Failure in compliance with the directive would have resulted in staving off of salaries of concerned officers, the tribunal had warned.
In order to assess the sites and provide technical assistance, a committee was created comprising of Delhi Chief Secretary, secretary of Urban Development, member secretaries of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
NGT had earlier directed municipal corporations to assess the waste sites and submit an action-taken report to manage the waste in the locations. The tribunal held its stance that essentially, waste management responsibility comes under the purview of municipal corporations.