Now anyone found littering anywhere in District Ghaziabad, particularly on the banks of river Hindon, will have to immediately cough up Rs.20,000 as environmental compensation.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has announced the fine while prohibiting public at large and also the Ghaziabad authorities from dumping any waste just about anywhere. The concerned civic agencies and the police have been empowered to recover the compensation.

It has ordered Ghaziabad authorities to place dustbins of appropriate sizes at certain places so that people can throw waste in them rather than anywhere they want.

“Further, we direct that any person, authority, officers or officials shall not throw, dump and/or burn any municipal solid waste anywhere in the district Ghaziabad particularly on the bank of river Hindon and road adjacent thereto,” the NGT ordered.

The order comes in the wake of Ghaziabad Naga Nigam dumping waste on the banks of or very close to Hindon, a tributary of Yamuna which the NGT has vowed to revitalise by 2017.

Not only Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam but even the residential societies around Hindon in areas like Vasundhara Enclave, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Dallu Pura Village and New Ashok Nagar which have been developed by DDA without any plan for sanitation also add to the piles of waste along Hindon canal.

What is shocking is that the Ghaziabad authorities have admitted to dumping waste along Hindon. The municipal solid waste is also burnt to further degrade the environment.

“Be that as it may. By no stretch of imagination, there can be justification of any public authority of the State to permit environmental degradation and water pollution by dumping municipal solid waste directly or permitting other persons to throw such waste at such ecologically sensitive places. Municipal solid waste is even being burnt openly,” the Tribunal said.

“It will be for the Nagar Nigam and all those authorities to place appropriate size of dustbins for encouraging the people to dump wastes only in the dustbins which shall be transported to a duly identified site meant for the purpose of dumping upon segregation.

“Any person or officer violating this condition shall be liable to pay instantaneously Rs.20,000 as environmental compensation and we permit all these authorities along with the police authorities to impose this environmental compensation and recover the same. If any person is found committing default in that regards and resists the recovery, liberty is granted to the authority to file an application before the Tribunal for appropriate orders,” the Tribunal made it clear.

The NGT has announced the fine while prohibiting public at large and also the Ghaziabad authorities from dumping waste anywhere, particularly on the banks of river Hindon