New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal Thursday dismissed a plea seeking review of its order directing thermal power plants to pay fine for violation of centre”s notification asking them to utilise 100 percent of the fly ash.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel also said consequences of non-disposal of the fly ash on the environment and public health are well known.
“We do not find any distinguishing feature in the present case so as to review the earlier order in favour of the applicant,” the bench said.
The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Co. Ltd seeking review of order dated February 12, 2020 order asking thermal power plants to take prompt steps for scientific disposal of fly ash, warning that the failure to do so would entail a penalty.
The tribunal had said the non-compliant plants will have to pay environmental compensation which would be determined from the cut-off date of December 31, 2017 as stipulated in the notification issued by the Union Environment Ministry.
The NGT order had come on a plea filed by Shantanu Sharma, Anupam Raghav, Sandplast (India) Ltd and others seeking utilisation of the fly ash as per 1999, 2003 and 2009 notifications issued by the Environment Ministry.
As per the notifications, fly ash can be used in “construction activity such as in road laying, embankments or used as landfill to reclaim low lying areas including backfilling in abandoned mines or pitheads or for any such other use as permitted strictly in accordance with the provisions of notifications”.
