New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an interim fine of Rs 5 crore on a pharmaceutical unit in Punjab for "violation of environmental norms".
While denouncing the conduct of the Punjab State Pollution Control Board (PSPCB) for failing to discharge its statutory functions effectively, the NGT directed the board to initiate criminal proceedings against the bulk drug manufacturing unit, besides determining the final compensation amount.
The green body was hearing a plea on Nector Life Sciences Limited, located at Haibatpur village in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district, reportedly discharging highly-polluted chemical effluent in the agricultural fields, causing damage to crops and land.
In an order passed on Thursday, an NGT bench comprising its chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said, "Considering the entire record, we are clearly of the view that the industry has failed to comply with the provisions of environmental laws, particularly the Water Act, and has consistently violated its provisions while its zero liquid discharge (ZLD) status has not been achieved till date."
The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad said the PSPCB "failed to discharge its statutory functions adequately and effectively".
The PSPCB did not take stringent action by imposing adequate environmental compensation, nor did it initiate criminal action for prosecution of the violator, the bench noted.
The tribunal also said the reports before it merely examined the effluent discharged by the unit to assess water quality and pollution levels. The unit mainly manufactured antibiotics and waste water containing antibiotics, such as cephalosporins antibiotics, could be highly toxic and difficult to degrade.
"It is thus necessary to examine the effluent or waste water generated by an industrial unit to see the whether treated water contains the residue of the above antibiotic medicine or not," the tribunal said.
Regarding environmental compensation, the tribunal said, "Since in the present financial year, the amount of environmental compensation at 0.5 per cent of turnover (Rs 1,698.66 crore ) comes to about Rs 8.5 crore, we find it appropriate to impose an interim environmental compensation of Rs 5 crore which shall be paid or deposited by the unit with the PSPCB within two months."
"We also direct the PSPCB to determine the final amount of environmental compensation after collecting information with regard to the turnover from the proponent of the respective year when the violations were found and to impose compensation for such period separately after due opportunity of hearing to the proponent," it added.
The NGT bench also directed the PSPCB to initiate criminal proceedings against the unit for past violations and make periodical inspections to ensure that it strictly complied with the environmental laws.
In its 65-page order, the tribunal said the unit committed several environmental violations, including emission of intermittently black smoke from its boiler, concentration of effluent beyond the prescribed limits, partially-operated effluent treatment plant (ETP), lack of proper distribution network to avoid unscientific and illegal discharge, and non-operational multi-effect evaporator (MEE).
"The industry was found to have failed in checking the discharge of ammonia contained water which was found spread outside the premises," the tribunal said.
It also castigated the pharma unit for manipulating the figures regrading the extraction of groundwater, saying the numbers were shown within the permissible range, forgetting the fact that production had increased substantially.
"The industry had to explain as to why water consumption did not increase, but it failed. It shows a clear manipulation on the part of the industry in maintaining record to show a paper compliance, but not in fact," the NGT bench noted.