The Supreme Court has recently stayed an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that imposed a penalty exceeding ₹1,000 crore on the State of Punjab for inadequate waste management practices [State of Punjab v. Union of India & Ors].
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued a notice on Punjab’s appeal, temporarily halting the NGT’s order. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on October 21.
The NGT, in an order dated September 22, 2022, had originally imposed a fine of ₹2,080 crore on Punjab for its failure to treat solid and liquid waste effectively. This penalty followed the Supreme Court’s directions in cases like Almitra H. Patel v. Union of India & Ors. and Paryavaran Suraksha v. Union of India, where the NGT was tasked with ensuring compliance with waste management norms.
The NGT had instructed Punjab to deposit the ₹2,080 crore into a ring-fenced account, which was to be operated under the direction of the Chief Secretary for environmental restoration efforts. However, during a hearing in July 2023, the tribunal found that the State had neither set up this account nor deposited the penalty. This failure was deemed a violation under Section 26 of the NGT Act.
Consequently, on July 25, 2023, the NGT imposed an additional penalty of approximately ₹1,026 crore, to be deposited with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), based on continued environmental violations over a six-month period.
Punjab then appealed to the Supreme Court, leading to the stay of the NGT’s order on September 20.
The State of Punjab was represented by Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gurminder Singh, along with Additional Advocate General (AAG) Sandeep Bajaj and advocates Baani Khanna, Robin Singh, Rohit Kumar, Govinda Choudhary, Mayank Biyani, and Siddharth Seem.
