Factual Matrix
The State of Bihar was ordered to pay 4,000 crores in restitution by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for inadequate solid and liquid waste treatment. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has punished other states as well as Bihar for poor garbage management. In 2022, the NGT imposed similar sanctions on a number of other states, including Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Observation of the Tribunal
The Tribunal coram of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, Sudhir Agarwal, and Arun Kumar Tyagi, as well as expert members Dr. A Senthil Veil and Dr. Afroz Ahmad, noted that there were gaps in waste generation and processing that were harmful to the environment and public health and that these issues needed to be urgently addressed in light of the deadlines that were legally required as well as the requirement for good governance for the effective enforcement of citizens’ rights to a clean environment. The Supreme Court ordered the Tribunal to oversee the application of solid and liquid waste management standards in the cases of Almitra H. Patel v. Union of India and Paryavaran Suraksha v. Union of India, and this order was made in response.
Environment Compensation
According to the NGT, compensation for the treatment gap of liquid waste will amount to around 4,000 crores for solid waste.
NGT Suggestion and Recommendation
The establishment of solid waste processing facilities, remediation of legacy waste, sewage treatment plants, and faecal sludge and septage treatment plants are only a few of the restorative actions that would be taken to ensure that there is no gap. Therefore, it may be necessary to strategize with the help of available experts and other State stakeholders at various levels, develop solid and sewage management models that can be quickly replicated, and launch specialised campaigns with the help of the community media in the overall goal of protecting the environment and the general public’s health with a determination for quick action.
The Tribunal recommended a change in strategy for the State’s administrative procedures.