Deposit Rs 89L fine to be heard on merits: HC to infra development firm

Kullu: The Himachal Pradesh high court has ordered M/s Dilip Buildcon Limited, an infrastructure development company hired by the Railways for its Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri rail line project, to deposit an environmental fine of around Rs 89 lakh imposed against it for illegally and unscientifically dumping muck in the Bhakra dam reservoir of Bilaspur district.In an order passed on Jan 6, Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia directed the company to deposit the fine with the court in a fixed deposit if "it wishes to be heard on merits."The HC also observed in the order that Dilip Buildcon challenged the penalty amount. Also, on Dec 18, 2024 hearing, the court pointed out that if the company did not pay the fine, it would not be heard.In an affidavit filed in the HC on Jan 5, Dilip Buildcon challenged the environmental compensation of Rs 85.87 lakh imposed by the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) in 2023. The company stated in its affidavit that the penalty imposed against it was "grossly inflated and the computation method faulty."According to the affidavit, the penalty amount should not exceed Rs 28.62 lakh, but the HPSPCB had imposed around three times more fine. It added that a civil writ petition in this regard was already filed on Dec 31, 2025.The affidavit further stated that the company deposited Rs 29.25 lakh in 2024 under protest and coercion, as electricity to the project site was disconnected, bringing all the work to a standstill."The deposit was made only to secure restoration of power and prevent harm to an important infrastructure project," the affidavit stated, adding that the reason for the non-deposit of the balance environmental compensation was that the computation method adopted by the authorities was "illegal, grossly inflated, arbitrary and erroneous."The Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd awarded Dilip Buildcon Limited the project to construct tunnels, bridges and the allied work of the Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri rail line.Sanctioned in 2008-09, the 63 km-long Bhanupalli–Bilaspur–Beri line will pass through 15 villages of Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh. The line will also pass through five tunnels, totalling 10.7 km in length, and over 12 bridges — five major and seven minor. MSID:: 126435537 413 |