NEW DELHI: The Telangana government was fined Rs 3,800 crore by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to remove solid and liquid waste.
In a recent order, the bench led by NGT chair Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel stated, "The total compensation comes to Rs 3825 crore, or say (rounded off as), Rs 3,800 crore, which may be deposited by the State of Telangana in a separate ring-fenced account within two months, to be operated as per directions of the Chief Secretary and used for restoration measures."
In accordance with the directives of a 2014 Supreme Court decision, the green court was addressing the problem of managing solid and liquid waste. The panel further ordered the Telangana government to create a working system that would allow service providers to handle waste and sewage management tasks simultaneously across the whole State, including all districts, cities, and towns.
There shouldn't be any trouble in swiftly carrying out the restoration given the environmental compensation required, how it fits into the State budget, and the existence of confirmed locations, it said.
"The Chief Secretary may think about appointing a Senior Nodal Officer with the rank of ACS to establish stock taking at the District levels and monitor progress on closing the gaps in sewage and solid waste management on a regular basis. For the purpose of utilising treated sewage, both current and future STPs must have connections with businesses and other large consumers, such as agriculture and horticulture. To process the daily trash generation, legacy waste sites must be cleaned up, and reclaimed land must be used to build waste processing facilities" the order read.
In addition to future compliance, it further stated that the State's obligation for prior violations must be determined in light of earlier binding rulings issued under the Supreme Court's direction.
According to the tribunal, the restoration of sewage management would entail establishing sewage treatment and utilisation systems, modernising the operations and systems of current sewage treatment facilities to ensure that their full capacities are utilised, ensuring compliance with standards, including those for faecal coliform, and establishing proper faecal sewage and sludge management in rural areas.
The execution plan for solid waste management would call for building the necessary trash processing facilities and cleaning up abandoned areas. Processes for bio-remediation and bio-mining must be carried out in accordance with CPCB regulations, and stabilised organic waste from biomining and composting facilities must meet established standards.
The tribunal further requested that the Chief Secretary submit six-monthly progress reports that included evidence of the issue's development.
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