The Karnataka Excessive Court docket has put aside a 2022 order of the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (Southern Zone) to the extent that it discovered the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) answerable for air pollution within the Ulsoor lake. The unit had been discovered liable to the extent of Rs 2.9 crore. The NGT proceedings had been taken up suo motu primarily based on a 2016 information article on the lake, and was put aside on November 26 by a bench consisting of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind. The order was made obtainable this Friday.
The MEG, a part of the Corps of Engineers of the Military, is a army unit primarily based in Bengaluru relationship again over two centuries. An interim order had been handed by the NGT in September 2021 imposing a penalty of Rs 2.9 crore on the MEG, whereas the ultimate order in Might 2022 had discovered the MEG, Bangalore Water Provide and Sewerage Board, and a slaughterhouse answerable for the air pollution.
The MEG argued that that they had not been get together to the suo motu proceedings and have been solely made conscious of them when an NGT-appointed Committee had arrived for an inspection. This Committee had given an August 2020 report back to the impact that an STP operated by the MEG had not obtained consent of firm/operation and didn’t adjust to discharge requirements. It was additionally argued that the MEG was not given a possibility to state their case throughout a re-inspection in 2021.
Further Solicitor Basic Arvind Kamath had argued on behalf of the MEG that the orders have been in breach of pure justice because the MEG had not been heard. It was additionally argued that MEG had beforehand complained that the BWSSB had diverted sewage from numerous areas to circulation via the MEG. It was said amongst different arguments that the MEG’s sewage load was low, and the first polluters have been the truth is Bangalore Water Provide and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and others.
The bench noticed, “Not solely that the appellants weren’t get together to the proceedings earlier than the NGT, that they had by no means a possibility to place ahead their rebuttal or the case in defence to the discovering and conclusion by the NGT about their legal responsibility to pay the compensation. Even when the appellants may very well be attributed with the information of the proceedings earlier than the Tribunal, once they weren’t given alternative to place ahead their case and that they weren’t heard, their proper to problem the discovering and the choice may very well be mentioned to be remaining alive to be exercised in Court docket of legislation.”
The Excessive Court docket put aside the NGT order to the extent that it discovered that MEG was a polluter, on the grounds that they weren’t adequately heard. The matter was remitted again to the NGT to be heard afresh. The MEG was directed to submit the sum of Rs 1 crore to the Karnataka State Air pollution Management Board topic to the end result of the brand new proceedings.
