Panchaganga pollution: Civic bodies told to self-assess fine

Pune: The National Green Tribunal bench in Pune has given an opportunity to Kolhapur Municipal Corporation and Ichalkaranji Municipal Council to make a self-assessment of the environmental damage cost (EDC) to be paid for the pollution caused by discharge of sewage into the Panchaganga river.At a hearing on Aug 14, the two civic bodies had challenged a Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) assessment which set EDC to be paid by KMC at Rs 38.4 crore and IMC’s at Rs 21.6 crore, on the grounds that sewage discharge from other areas was also considered while reaching the quantum of EDC.

“We certainly can look into the issue of EDC calculation and if respondent No.5-KMC says EDC is on a higher side as the other areas, from where pollution is being caused, have also been included while calculating the EDC and hence, the amount of EDC has increased. For that, we grant an opportunity to KMC to make an assessment and submit the same before us,” said the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Vijay Kulkarni. The same applies to IMC too, the bench added. The tribunal further directed that municipal councils of Shirol, Kurundwad, Hupari and Hatkanangale be impleaded as respondents in the matter and has posted the next hearing on Nov 4. Activist Vrinda Basu had filed a plea before the NGT’s principal bench in response to the TOI report, ‘Ichalkaranji stops lifting water from Panchganga’, published on March 3, 2022. The tribunal had taken note of contamination that resulted in death of fish, foul smell, caused by sewage discharge from the city and 39 riverside villages. Also, discharge from sugar factories was flowing into Panchaganga, causing low oxygen levels, as was highlighted in the TOI report.Eventually, a joint committee of the district magistrate of Kolhapur, the MPCB and Central Pollution Control Board was constituted to study the matter. The committee said fish death incidents in January and February 2022 is said to be attributable to two sugar units in the region. “Probable sources of pollution included discharge of sewage, surface runoff from land discharge of irrigation and discharge from sugar or distillery industries, adding that septic tanks with no treatment facilities in villages resulted in overflow that was discharged into drains meeting the river,” read the committee’s report.Later, MPCB identified the total gap of sewage treatment in the region, recorded as 87.59 MLD, out of which 42.4 MLD is attributed to KMC, 20 MLD is attributed to IMC, 19.69 MLD to zilla parishad, Kolhapur, and 5.5 MLD to other municipal councils.On Jan 31, the tribunal directed MPCB to calculate the EDC to be levied on the civic bodies.