PTC Web Desk: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to take steps to recover Rs 66 lakh in pending environmental compensation from the Kurali Municipal Council for violations of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The direction was issued by the NGT Principal Bench while disposing of a petition filed by Amarjit Singh and others concerning the dumping of municipal solid waste at a landfill site on Siswan Road in Kuraali.

The matter involved allegations that waste was being dumped at the site without the required approvals and in violation of environmental norms.

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In its August 13 order, the tribunal noted that remedial as well as punitive action had already been initiated while the case was pending. The Kurali Municipal Council told the NGT that the municipal waste earlier dumped at the site had been removed and that no old waste remained there. It also stated that fresh dumping had been stopped.

According to the council, a resolution was passed on February 23, 2026, to shut down the sanitary landfill located on Siswan Road. The council further informed the tribunal that it had established a Resource Management Centre at the site, comprising three all-weather sheds and 84 compost pits for wet waste. A sanitary landfill facility was also developed and approval was sought from the PPCB.

Approval denied over location of landfill

The proposed facility, however, did not receive approval from the pollution control board. The approval was rejected because the site was located less than 200 metre from a highway and a water source, making it inconsistent with the applicable requirements.

Following the rejection, the municipal council decided to close the landfill and issued public notices seeking a new location that would comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Rs 86 lakh compensation imposed between 2020 and 2025

The PPCB informed the NGT that environmental compensation totalling Rs 86 lakh had been imposed on the Kurali Municipal Council for violations of solid waste management regulations during the period from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025.

However, the council has so far deposited only Rs 20 lakh.

This leaves an outstanding amount of Rs 66 lakh, which the tribunal has now directed the PPCB to recover.

The pollution control board's compliance report included details of successive compensation orders covering different periods between July 2020 and December 2025.

The PPCB also informed the tribunal that it was in the process of filing a complaint before the adjudicating officer against the Kurali Municipal Council and its Executive Officer for violations of the Solid Waste Management Rules.

Apart from recovering the pending compensation, the NGT directed the PPCB to verify whether any violations occurred after the periods for which environmental compensation had already been imposed.

If further violations are found, the board has been asked to impose environmental compensation for the subsequent period as well.