NGT imposes Rs 2,080 cr fine on Punjab over waste management mechanism 

The National Green Tribunal has imposed a fine of Rs 2,080 crore on the Punjab government over its lack of waste management mechanisms. The tribunal said that the government failed to create a mechanism, and despite multiple orders since 2018, the Punjab government did not take any step. 

The liability of the state has to be fixed for the past violations in the light of earlier orders that were passed in pursuance of the orders of the Supreme Court, it said. 

The NGT said that the Punjab government failed to follow statutory timelines since 2014 for pollution control measures. It said that the Punjab government failed to install sewage management and water pollution devices. 

The state will recover the amount of Rs 2,080 crore from the polluters. 

This is not the first case of such huge fines. The tribunal had earlier imposed Rs 3,000 crore fine on the Rajasthan government, and Rs 12,000 crore on the Maharashtra government. 

After years of ‘advisories’ the National Green Tribunal is now trying to punish states into taking steps towards implementation of these norms, and towards preventing municipal solid waste and water pollution. 

Most recently, the tribunal had imposed a fine of Rs 120 crore on the Uttar Pradesh government for environmental violations, including improper solid waste management and discharge of sewage into rivers in Gorakhpur district. 

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