Supreme Court today
Bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah
On February 17, 2020 the bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta had issued notice returnable on March 20, 2020 in the application. The Court allowed impleadment on behalf of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.
Appearing for Chhattisgarh Environment Board, Advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha had submitted that necessary steps for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants were initiated and tenders were invited too. He also submitted to file status of compliance in the form of a status report on an affidavit.
The Court had thereafter directed to file the status report indicating the progress which has been made and the timelines within which the setting up of the Sewage Treatment Plants shall be completed and to not take coercive steps against the board in the meantime.
The application was filed against the backdrop of a plea which was filed by Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti seeking a writ in the nature of mandamus, for a direction to the respondents, to ensure, that no industry which requires “consent to operate” from the concerned Pollution Control Board, is permitted to function, unless it has a functional effluent treatment plant, which is capable to meet the prescribed norms for removing the pollutants from the effluent, before it is discharged.
On February 22, 2017 bench of former Chief Justice JS Kehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had thereafter directed State Pollution Control Boards to issue notices to the industries that required “ consent to operate”.
Court had also directed the State Government and Union Territories to set up within a period of three years till February, 2020.
Further the court imposed a responsibility on the Member Secretaries of the concerned Pollution Control Boards to ensure adherence to the directions pertaining to continuation of industrial activity only when there is in place a functional “primary effluent treatment plants'', and the setting up of functional “common effluent treatment plants” within the stipulated timelines and imposed a liability on the Secretary of the Department of Environment, of the concerned State Government (and the concerned Union Territory), answerable in case of default.
“The concerned Secretaries to the Government shall be responsible for monitoring the progress, and issuing necessary directions to the concerned Pollution Control Board, as may be required, for the implementation of the above directions. They shall be also responsible for collecting and maintaining records of data, in respect of the directions contained in this order. The said data shall be furnished to the Central Ground Water Authority, which shall evaluate the data, and shall furnish the same to the Bench of the jurisdictional National Green Tribunal,” Court had also directed.
Court had also empowered the concerned benches of National Green Tribunal to supervise complaints of non-implementation of the directions, and maintain running and numbered case files, by dividing the jurisdictional area into units.
Liberty was also granted to the concerned Pollution Control Board is also hereby directed, to initiate such civil or criminal action, as may be permissible in law, against all or any of the defaulters.
Case Title: Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti v. Union of India