NGT fines Ghaziabad civic body ₹17.45 lakh for illegal waste dumping at Apsara Border

Hindustan Times

a day ago

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an environmental compensation of ₹17.45 lakh on the Ghaziabad municipal corporation for allegedly dumping municipal solid waste in violation of waste management rules. The order, delivered on July 31 while disposing of a petition by Laxmi Narain, a resident of Chikambarpur village, directed that the amount be deposited with the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) within two months. The NGT said the compensation would be used to remediate environmental damage in accordance with a plan to be drawn up by a committee comprising officials of the Central Pollution Control Board, UPPCB, and the Ghaziabad district magistrate.
Narain had complained that the corporation was dumping waste at the Apsara Border area — in the Ghaziabad–Dilshad Garden stretch near GT Road — causing foul odour and air pollution, and posing a risk of disease outbreaks and groundwater contamination due to leachate seepage.
'We accordingly, in exercise of power under Section 15 read with Section 20 of the NGT Act, 2010, and invoking the principle of 'Polluter Pays,' impose environmental compensation of ₹17,45,000 upon respondent 1, which shall be paid within two months,' the tribunal said.
It added that the corporation had 'miserably failed to comply with the provisions of the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016, and committed illegalities in management, transportation, processing, and disposal of the solid waste' in the area.
The NGT said the compensation would be used to remediate environmental damage in accordance with a plan to be drawn up by a committee comprising officials of the Central Pollution Control Board, UPPCB, and the Ghaziabad district magistrate.
When contacted, corporation officials said they intended to seek a review. 'We are analyzing the order in detail,' said Mithilesh Kumar, city health officer.
The case was based partly on an inspection by UPPCB officials on March 3, 2025. Their report said the site — measuring about 1,600 sqm — temporarily held waste from four wards, with around 40 metric tonnes of garbage lying there at the time. While no leachate or sewage was found entering the adjoining stormwater drain, the site was 'in an unhygienic condition' with a foul smell, and waste scattered in the area due to the absence of a boundary wall. The report also noted that no consent to operate or establish had been obtained from the pollution board for the site.
Earlier, the tribunal had directed the municipal commissioner to file a compliance report. In an affidavit dated November 9, 2024, the corporation said the site was a secondary garbage collection centre (SGCC) set up a few years ago to temporarily store waste from four wards. It said five other SGCCs in the area had been closed in the past four to five years, and that most problems at the Apsara Border site occurred during the monsoon but were addressed promptly.
On March 1, 2025, the corporation submitted another affidavit stating it had decided to shift the SGCC to a new facility in Chikambarpur within two months. In a third affidavit dated July 4, 2025, it said the Apsara Border site had been cleared and was now proposed to be used as a zonal office, with tendering for the work underway.
However, the tribunal said the corporation had failed to specify where the new collection point was located or whether it complied with the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016. 'No specific reply could be given,' it noted, adding that the July 4 affidavit was 'silent' on compliance regarding the new site.