The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has prescribed the methodology used for fixing the environment compensation on Pune Municipal Corporation for its failure to comply with solid waste management rules in the case related to the non-compliance of the Construction and Waste Management Rules in the removal and disposal of waste that emerged following the demolition of the four apartment complexes in Maradu.
The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal had asked the Central board to come up with guidelines on fixing the environment compensation after a joint committee appointed by the court and the State Pollution Control Board submitted a report before the tribunal alleging violations by the municipal secretary and the vendors engaged for waste removal. It was pointed out that they had not submitted periodical report, action plans, and data on disposal of steel and concrete debris from the site.
The methodology for fixing the environmental compensation on the Pune municipality was developed by the CPCB in the case before the Western Zone Bench of the tribunal filed in 2019.
A formula on assessing the environment compensation was developed by factoring in components like waste quantity in tonnes per day, operation and maintenance cost and number of days till the required capacity systems were installed by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
The CPCB informed the tribunal that it has constituted a committee for fine-tuning of methodology for the assessment of environment compensation for non-compliance of the provisions under the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 and non-compliance of environmental clearance conditions by the proponents of construction projects.
However, the board pointed out that the methodology used in the action against the Pune municipality could be used for the calculation of environmental compensation with respect to the non-compliance in the management of construction and demolition waste in the Maradu case.
