Hundreds of villagers, who have been severely affected by solid waste piling up at Nakravadi village near Rajkot, will finally get a total of Rs 25 lakh compensation that was ordered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2013.
Hanjer Biotech Energies (HBE), which was given the contract to treat and dispose of municipal solid waste by creating a landfill site, failed to carry out the task within the deadline. The firm is now bankrupt.
The firm had got a stay on disbursement of the compensation from the Supreme Court in April 2014. However, on May 7, 2024, the apex court vacated the stay and directed the Rajkot collector to distribute the amount that had been deposited with it.
Health hazards
As a result of the pollution caused by the waste, the agriculture farms and houses in nearly six villages got contaminated and the health of people was adversely affected.
The NGT had directed compensation for residents of villages in the 500 metre periphery of the site. These included Nakravadi, Pipaliya, Nagalpar, Khijadiya, Rajgadh, Sokhda and Hadmatiya.
The NGT had noted how severe air and water pollution was caused, especially during the monsoon when water flowed from the landfill site (filled with untreated waste) towards the villages.
The petitioners, which included villagers, filed an appeal requesting the SC to permit the disbursement. One of the petitioners said that the Rs 25 lakh was to be deposited by the company with the collector as per the NGT’s direction. Instead, this amount was deposited by the RMC saying that they would later recover it from HBE. It is not clear whether the amount has been recovered as yet.
According to the contract, HBE was supposed to start the processing plant within eight months but the company took five years to complete the project.
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