Ashish Dewedi & Anr Versus State of Chhattisgarh & Ors

Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sheo Kumar Singh, Judicial Member Hon’ble Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, Expert Member
Keywords: Air Pollution Control System, environment compensation
Decision: Disposed
Date: 22.12.2021
The case in question is Original Application No. 79 of 2020, in which the petitioner had filed for relief against Respondent No. 5, a company operating an industrial unit that was allegedly causing air pollution and other environmental damage. The petitioner had requested that the respondent be directed to install an air pollution control system, plant trees in the area, comply with consent conditions, stop production beyond the consented capacity, and face appropriate compensation for noncompliance.
On September 9, 2020, the matter was taken up by the Tribunal, and a Joint Committee was constituted to submit a factual and action taken report. The Committee visited the site, inspected records, and submitted a report in compliance with the Tribunal's request. Respondent No. 2, the Central Pollution Control Board, submitted a reply stating that the issues raised by the petitioner had been addressed by the Joint Committee.
The petitioner raised several preliminary objections to the Joint Committee report. In response, the Committee annexed notices dated April 1, 2020, and October 26, 2020, from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) regarding groundwater usage.
The learned counsel for the CPCB, Sh. Yadvendra Yadav, argued that the CGWA notification issued by the Government of India was not of retrospective effect and applied according to the guidelines issued by the relevant authorities. After considering all relevant facts and the report submitted by the Joint Committee, which consisted of members from the Central Pollution Control Board, Central Ground Water Authority, Central Ground Water Board, and the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, the Tribunal found that there were no violations as alleged in the petitioner's application.
As a result, the Tribunal finally disposed of Original Application No. 79 of 2020 accordingly, and no further action was required to be taken