The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has made it clear that the Maradu municipality cannot shirk its responsibility in ensuring the disposal of debris resulted out of the demolition of the four apartment buildings as per the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016.
The Bench comprising Justice K. Ramakrishnan and expert member Saibal Dasgupta noted in an order issued on May 14 that the civic body could not disobey the direction given by the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) and the committee constituted by the tribunal in order to protect environment under Article 48-A and 51-A(g) of the Constitution as they had equal responsibility in this regard.
The tribunal has directed the State Pollution Control Board and the Ernakulam District Collector to take steps to implement the direction given by the SLMC. The authorities can take action against the service provider, if they are found not complying with the direction in implementing the disposal of debris as per the Municipal Solid Waste rules.
The joint committee appointed by the tribunal could also assess the environmental compensation, if there is any damage caused on account of their lapse. The board was also at liberty to file an independent report to enable the tribunal to assess the present status, it said.
The Bench said that the State authorities were duty-bound to protect the nearby Vembanad Lake, which was part of the environment. The leachate from debris was likely to enter the waterbody with the onset of monsoon, it said.
The SLMC and the joint committee will have to submit the action-taken report within two months. The NGT Registry has been told to serve notice on the Maradu municipality to present its submissions. The Bench had initiated suo motu proceedings in January on the issue based on media reports and formed a joint committee to monitor the time-bound removal and disposal of demolition debris.
