New Delhi, February 24 The National Green Tribunal has imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the Delhi Pollution Control Committee for the excessive delay in transferring funds to the Delhi government's forest and wildlife department.
The NGT criticized the "widespread tendency" of non-compliance with its orders by "offering lame excuses," stating that the reasons for the delay in the transfer were "unacceptable."
In November 2023, the green body directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to release ₹8 lakh, collected as environmental compensation from four illegal stone crushing units in Nilothi village, to the Department of Forest and Wildlife.
The Delhi government's department was directed to use the funds for afforestation efforts in the village.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad, in an order dated January 8, made available on Tuesday, noted the DPCC's submission that the delay was due to the relocation of its office.
"We find the reasons given for the delay of more than one year in the transfer of the amount by DPCC to the Department of Forest and Wildlife, GNCTD, to be wholly unreasonable and unacceptable," the bench said.
It stated that non-compliance with the tribunal's order is an offense, and even the chairman and the member secretary of the DPCC are liable to be prosecuted for such violation.
"However, by taking a lenient view, we do not consider it appropriate to direct such prosecution. Nevertheless, to curb the widespread tendency of non-compliance with the orders passed by this tribunal and offering lame excuses for the same, we consider it necessary to impose appropriate costs on DPCC," the tribunal said.
It directed DPCC to deposit ₹50,000 as costs for non-compliance with the order, in addition to causing inconvenience and delay in remediating the environmental damage.