SHILLONG, July 8: The Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday directed the Meghalaya government to take appropriate action to frame an action plan to make offending coke units established prior to December 23, 2020 to make them compliant of the sitting norms laid down in the notification issued on that date.
“Such action plan and its implementation shall be carried out within a period of four months. So far as recovery of environmental compensation is concerned, no further order is required by the Tribunal except to direct the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) to recover environmental compensation from the coke plants according to procedure established by law,” the NGT bench said while hearing the petition of Pynbait Sutnga.
The NGT also directed MSPCB to undertake continuous monitoring of coke plants to check whether environmental norms are violated and if so, take action in accordance with law.
In the order, the NGT stated that the state respondents filed an affidavit on May 10, 2022 stating that MSPCB had carried out surprise night/day inspections on 31 coke units against which complaints were filed in the East Jaintia Hills District Court.
The affidavit further states that the MSPCB is in the process of finalisation and imposition of environmental compensation on erring and non-compliant coke plants who were found to have initiated establishment works/operation without obtaining required consents from the Board and also on those plants who have violated the closure notices. It was also stated that finalisation of compensation amount would take some time.
The affidavit also stated that the state government has no action plan to shift the existing 12 coke oven plants which have been established in accordance with law as exiting at the relevant point of time (December 23, 2020).
It was further stated that except two coke units, no other unit is situated within the distance of 500 meters from a village.
The NGT stated that MSPCB filed another affidavit on May 26, 2022 bringing on record an inspection report regarding re-inspection of 31 coke plants in East Jaintia Hills which were found to be non-compliant and against whom complaint cases had been filed.
“In the affidavit, it is stated that all 31 erring and non-compliant coke plants which were found to have initiated establishment of works/operation without obtaining required consents from the Board and have violated closure notices, 13 environmental compensation penalty has been imposed against all of them,” the NGT order says.
Reacting to the NGT order, legal adviser of Environment Coordination Committee (ECC) of Elaka Sutnga Reading War said it was a big win for the people of the Elaka.
“As per the record available and with the government all the 14 units which have obtained consent to operate (CTO) could not meet the sitting norms provided under the notification. The government will have to relocate these 14 unites within four months,” he said.
According to him, the ECC is already prepared to continue its fight if the government fails to frame the action plan within the stipulate time allotted in the judgment.
