NGT Imposes Penalty on Pollution Authority for Sewage Discharge in Stormwater Drain

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC to identify and impose a fine on the authority which had caused the discharge of sewage in a stormwater drain passing through Malviya Nagar to Greater Kailash.A bench comprising of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel sought an action report within three months from the committee while hearing a petition alleging that the Delhi Jal Board DJB had connected a sewer line to the stormwater drain, while the purpose of the drain was only to carry excess rainwater.

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to identify and impose a fine on the authority which had caused the discharge of sewage in a stormwater drain passing through Malviya Nagar to Greater Kailash.

A bench comprising of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel sought an action report within three months from the committee while hearing a petition alleging that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had connected a sewer line to the stormwater drain, while the purpose of the drain was only to carry excess rainwater. The bench said according to the DJB, after restoration work completed on April 24, no sewage was flowing into the drain.

''The stand of the DJB is that the sewage was earlier discharged in the stormwater drain on account of damage caused to the sewer line running on Basant Kaur Marg by the construction work of the Public Works Department (PWD) carried out in respect of a drain,'' the bench said. Noting that the PWDs’ counsel disputed that the department was at fault, the bench underscored that the sewage water continued to flow in the stormwater drain creating a health hazard for more than three years, without any action by the authorities concerned.

''Since, there was a clear violation of norms by either DJB or PWD or by any other authority, which had led to the flowing of sewage water into stormwater drain for more than three years, leading to pollution and causing health hazards, therefore, necessary action is required to be taken by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for the imposition of environmental compensation (EC) against the violator,'' the tribunal said.

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