Supreme Court Stays NGT's Rs 1,000 Crore Fine on Punjab Government for Waste Mismanagement

The Supreme Court has stayed the National Green Tribunal's decision to penalize the Punjab government Rs 1,000 crore for inadequate waste management. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and other justices have requested responses from the Centre and CPCB regarding the Punjab government's appeal against the NGT order.

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) decision imposing a penalty of Rs 1,000 crore on the Punjab government as environmental compensation for failing to manage solid and liquid waste. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has asked the Centre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file their response on the appeal filed by the Punjab government.

The Punjab Government has contested the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, which imposed a Rs 1,000 crore penalty for its failure to manage solid and liquid waste in the state. The NGT's recent order directed the state government to deposit Rs 10,261,908,000 with the CPCB as environmental compensation.

In its order, the NGT noted that repeated directives were issued hoping that the Punjab government would take substantial and urgent steps to comply with environmental laws. However, the NGT observed that the state had miserably failed in meeting these requirements. The tribunal emphasized that stringent, punitive, and preventive actions are necessary against the Punjab government for non-compliance with environmental laws.

(With inputs from agencies.)