The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi on Thursday took note of allegations regarding the dumping of muck into the Satluj River during blasting work for the Sunni Dam Hydroelectric Project in Himachal Pradesh but disposed of the petition after observing that the issue had already been examined earlier.
The case was registered as an Original Application following a letter petition filed by Mahendra Verma, who alleged that debris generated during tunnel blasting for the project in Sunni tehsil of Shimla district was being dumped into the river, leading to environmental pollution.
Invoking its suo motu powers in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai vs. Ankita Sinha (2022), the Tribunal took up the matter. The applicant appeared in person and submitted newspaper reports and photographs in support of his claims.
During the proceedings, the NGT noted that similar allegations related to the same project had been raised earlier through another Original Application. In that matter, a Joint Committee consisting of the Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board (HPPCB) and the District Forest Officer, Shimla, had carried out inspections and submitted a factual report.
Based on the committee’s findings, environmental compensation of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the project proponent for multiple dumping sites, and directions were issued to ensure compliance with prescribed environmental safeguards. The Tribunal further noted that the earlier case was subsequently closed with directions to the HPPCB to continue monitoring and take action, if necessary.
In view of this, the Bench held that a fresh application raising similar allegations, without clearly identifying specific locations of violations, was not maintainable.
However, the Tribunal granted liberty to the applicant to submit a detailed and specific complaint to the Member Secretary of the HPPCB. The pollution control authority has been directed to take appropriate action in accordance with law upon receipt of such a complaint.
The order was passed by Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Dr. Afroz Ahmad, who emphasized that environmental grievances should be pursued through proper procedural mechanisms to avoid duplication of proceedings.
