August 28 last date for Manali council to deposit Rs 4.6-cr fine

Kullu, August 25

The Manali Municipal Council (MC) president, Chaman Kapoor, has said they were hopeful of getting a stay from the High Court on Rs 4.6 crore fine imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on May 29. The last date to deposit the fine with the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) is August 28, as per the NGT orders.

The NGT had fined the MC over the contamination of the Beas river through leachate discharge from untreated waste from the management plant at Rangri in Manali. The president claimed that their appeal had been accepted in the High Court.

The court had also directed the HPSPCB to utilise the amount on remediation, rejuvenation and restoration of damaged environment on the basis of a Rejuvenation Plan, which shall be prepared by a Joint Committee comprising Kullu District Magistrate, CPCB Member Secretary and HPSPCB Member Secretary. The plan must be executed within next six months.

The MC authorities had stated that the operations of the waste management plant was outsourced to a private company and the company had not adhered to various notices sent by it. The MC president said the contract of the company had been terminated. “The new contractor had been appointed by the Urban Development Directorate. Refuse Derived Fuel will be made from dry waste and wet waste will be taken to Haryana to make biogas,” he said.

Gautam, a local, said officials and office-bearers behind for the lapse should be held liable and people should not be made to bear this undue burden.