The State Pollution Control Board has sought the response of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the guidelines to be followed while fixing the environment compensation on cities coming under Class II and below categories for violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Board in a fix
The Hindu had earlier reported that the board was in a fix over imposing the compensation on local bodies including Aluva, Angamaly, Kalamssery, Thrikkakara and Thripunitura for their failure to comply with rules citing the confusion over norms to be followed for assessing the compensation as they came under this category.
The environmental compensation is estimated based on the sum of capital cost and environment externalities.
For Class I cities, the minimum capital cost prescribed by a joint committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal is ₹1 crore and the operational cost is ₹1 lakh per day. But the minimum capital cost and operational cost are not prescribed for cities coming under the Class II and below categories. So, it is not possible to estimate the environmental compensation for these cities, according to a letter sent to the CPCB by the Chairman of the State board.
A methodology
The board recalled that the joint committee had come up with a methodology for assessing the percentage of achievement in solid waste management by considering factors like formation of Haritha Karma Sena and door-to-door collection.
A total score of 100 is given for different activities. The percentage of achievement is calculated based on the data sheet on solid waste management submitted by the local body.
The board has requested the central board to approve the methodology prescribed by the committee.
The CPCB had set up a division to look into the matter of modification of guidelines on the assessment of environmental compensation. The State board will act based on the recommendations given by the division on how to estimate the capital/operational cost component for cities in Class II and below categories.
