Asit Sarkar Versus Kanu Sarkar,
Asit Sarkar
Versus
Kanu Sarkar,
Review Application No. 01/2021 (EZ)
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. Amit Sthalekar, Judicial Member Hon’ble Mr. Saibal Dasgupta, Expert MemberVersus
Kanu Sarkar,
Review Application No. 01/2021 (EZ)
Keywords: environmental compensation, Green Category certificate
Decision: Disposed
Date: 24.12.2021
Review Application filed by a party seeking to review an order passed on November 19, 2020. The original application, No. 86/2019/EZ, was filed by the Applicant to direct the Respondent No. 15 not to pollute the air and noise by operating a Husking Mill at residential premises. The Applicant also sought to direct the authorities to show cause as to why they had issued a Green Category certificate without visiting the actual operation site.
The original application was disposed of by the Tribunal based on two reports submitted by the State Pollution Control Board. The first report was based on an inspection carried out on February 11, 2020, while the second report was based on the record of proceedings dated February 26, 2020, and October 7, 2020. During the inspection, the Pollution Control Board found that the unit had no Consent to Establish/Consent to Operate, and the noise level was far beyond the prescribed norms, with no measures taken to control it.
In the second report, the Pollution Control Board directed the unit to operate only after obtaining necessary statutory licenses, including Consent to Operate, and to run after taking adequate measures for controlling noise pollution. However, the Tribunal observed that the report submitted by the Pollution Control Board was insufficient as it did not assess the damage caused to the environment, nor did it recover the consequential environmental compensation from the unit. The Tribunal then directed the Pollution Control Board to act accordingly.
In compliance with the Tribunal's direction, the State Pollution Control Board filed an affidavit stating that the environmental compensation had been assessed and appropriate action was under process. The unit was also directed to close with electricity disconnection. Later, another affidavit was filed by the State Pollution Control Board, stating that the Environmental Compensation had been assessed at Rs. 3,70,000/- (Rupees Three Lakhs Seventy Thousand only), and the unit had remained closed since the issuance of the closure order. If the unit failed to pay the environmental compensation, the proceedings for recovery of the same would be initiated. Consequently, the Original Application No. 86/2019/EZ was disposed of by the Tribunal on November 19, 2020.
The Review Applicant filed a Review Application, claiming that the unit had a Consent to Operate certificate dated July 22, 2020, and that the noise level was within the permissible limit of 53.0 dB(A) to 56.0 dB(A), and therefore, the Applicant should be allowed to operate the Husking Mill. However, upon inspection, it was found that the unit was operating the Husking Mill without a Consent to Operate, which was granted only on July 22, 2020.
After reviewing the documents on record, the Tribunal found no error apparent on the face of the record in the order of the Tribunal dated November 19, 2020. The Review Application lacked merit and was dismissed accordingly.
