Gurgaon: National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday sought responses from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on a plea by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) seeking permission to use environmental compensation funds for setting up micro sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the Yamuna catchment. The matter has been listed for hearing on Sept 16.The application has been filed by HSPCB in an ongoing NGT case examining how environmental compensation funds collected by pollution control boards across the country can be utilised. The tribunal did not rule on the request and instead sought replies from CPCB and NMCG.A bench comprising NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad granted CPCB four weeks to file its response. It also impleaded NMCG through its director general. NMCG accepted notice and sought four weeks to submit its reply, while HSPCB was directed to provide a copy of its application to NMCG’s counsel within three days.The tribunal also noted that several state pollution control boards and pollution control committees had filed additional responses after its earlier order. It granted four weeks to the pollution control boards of Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, UP and Kerala, and the pollution control committees of Daman and Diu and Ladakh, to file replies. CPCB was given eight weeks to compile the information received from all boards and committees and place it before the tribunal in a tabulated format.Environmental compensation funds are collected from polluters under directions issued by environmental authorities and courts. Their utilisation is governed by prescribed legal and regulatory frameworks. The NGT is examining whether these funds can be used for purposes beyond those already permitted under existing guidelines.As the issue has implications for pollution control boards across the country, the tribunal has sought details from all state pollution control boards and pollution control committees on the collection, custody and utilisation of these funds.Micro STPs are compact sewage treatment systems installed close to the source of wastewater generation. They are designed to intercept and treat sewage before it enters drains and rivers, making them particularly useful in areas that are not connected to large sewer networks. If HSPCB’s proposal is approved, the funds will be used to establish such facilities in the Yamuna catchment, although the application does not specify the number or proposed locations of the plants.
