Sterlite to pay Rs.100 Crores

Sterlite to pay Rs 100 crore for polluting environmentDirect closure of the plant has been set aside PTI

April 02 2013..ShareMore Sharing Services0..The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta Group, to pay Rs 100 crore as compensation for polluting environment through its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu but refused to direct its closure.
A bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik said that the environment has been polluted for a long time due to the discharge from the plant of the multinational company and it has to pay compensation
The court said that the compensation "must act as deterrent" and the amount of compensation should be decided on the basis of financial strength of the company.
It, however, refused to direct closure of the plant and set aside the Madras High Court's 2010 order on closing it down.
Imposing the compensation on the company, the bench said, "Amount less than Rs 100 crore would not have the desired impact

Plastic Waste

NEW DELHI: "We are sitting on a plastic time bomb," the Supreme Court said on Wednesday after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed it that India generates 56 lakhtonnes of plastic waste annually, with Delhi accounting for a staggering 689.5 tonnes a day.
"Total plastic waste which is collected and recycled in the country is estimated to be 9,205 tonnes per day (approximately 60% of total plastic waste) and 6,137 tonnes remain uncollected and littered," the CPCB said.
The four metros are major culprits in generating such waste, with Delhi producing 689.5 tonnes a day, followed by Chennai (429.4 tonnes), Kolkata (425.7 tonnes) and Mumbai (408.3 tonnes). The figures only serve to confirm the common sight of mounds of plastic in industrial, residential and slum areas of Indian cities and towns.
A shocked court asked civic authorities of five cities — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Faridabad and Bangalore — to submit reports on the steps taken to contain dumping of plastic waste and implementing the ban on gutka.
As 40% of plastic waste is not recycled, the daily addition to untreated plastic in Delhi is estimated at 275.6 tonnes, followed by Chennai (171.6 tonnes), Kolkata (170 tonnes) and Mumbai (163.2 tonnes). This waste is a source of continuing pollution as plastic is not bio-degradable and poisons the environment for decades.
The CPCB said a survey conducted in 60 major cities found that 15,342.46 tonnes of plastic waste was generated every day, amounting to 56 lakh tonnes a year.
While additional solicitor general Mohan Jain presented a worrying report on plastic waste management, another additional solicitor general, Indira Jaising, painted an equally grim health scenario by informing that the ban on 'gutka' and 'pan masala' laced with tobacco had not been effective due to manufacturers playing truant with the law while a lethargic state machinery compounded matters.

Responding to the situation, the bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Kurian Joseph felt non-implementation of law due to abject "failure of governance at the grass-root level" could be countered by adopting a two-pronged strategy for effective implementation of plastic waste management and ban on gutka and pan masala mixed with chewing tobacco and nicotine.
Taking a cue from CPCB's survey, it chose Delhi, Bangalore, Agra, Faridabad and Jaipur and asked the commissioners of civic bodies to file affidavits within four weeks detailing steps taken under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 and the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 to dispose of the waste responsibly.
"We have a habit of collecting garbage from cities and dumping them in villages. Representatives of villagers have stopped being abreast with the problems arising from such dumping," the bench said.
It also asked state pollution control boards and the CPCB to furnish the reports they have been mandated under law to prepare as supervisors of plastic waste disposal by municipal bodies.

On the implementation of the ban on gutka and pan masala in 23 states and five Union Territories, the bench asked the health secretaries concerned to file their response in four weeks to Jaising's allegation that the manufacturers had stepped around the ban on their sale. The court also asked the other states and UTs why such a legislative initiative had not been taken by them and whether they were contemplating it.

CORRUPT ENVIRONMENT OFFIER_CBI ARRESTS

CBI recovers over one crore from Environment Min official


New Delhi, Jan 17, 2013, (PTI) :

CBI today claimed to have recovered over Rs one crore from the residence of a senior Environment Ministry official who was arrested last night for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs seven lakh for arranging environmental clearance to power and steel company.

The official, Neeraj Kumar Khatri, posted as Deputy Director in Ministry of Environment and Forests, was arrested late last night while allegedly accepting the bribe from a middleman of a Odisha-based firm Chariot Group who too has been arrested, CBI sources said.

During his questioning and subsequent searches at the residence, CBI sources claimed its officials stumbled upon a false bottom in one of the cupboard's at the Gurgaon residence of the official where Rs 82.5 lakh of currency notes were hidden.

Another Rs 21.5 lakh cash was recovered from the Rothak residence of the accused official.

The sources said five immovable properties--two flats in Gurgaon and one each in Rohtak, Chandhigarh and Sonipat--in his name have also been identified by the agency.
They said Khatri was in touch for the last five years with father-son duo--Achutananda Srichandan and Chinmaya Srichandan--who run Bhubaneshwar-based SS Environics which acts as consultant firm and allegedly acts liasioner for them under its garb for getting clearances for various mining firms working in Odisha from Environment Ministry.
The website of SS Environics shows some high-profile mining magnets as its client.
The father and the son have been booked in the case by CBI but it has arrested only son Chinmaya who was handing over the money outside a posh hotel in South Delhi's Mehrauli.

The matter pertaining to the environment clearance in respect Chariot Power and Steel Company's Raiboga Lime Stone mining project in Sundergadh, Odisha, was scheduled for consideration by the Reconstituted Expert Appraisal Committee (Non Coal Mining), headed by a Joint Secretary-level official, today.
They said handing over of the bribe money a day before the meeting has raised suspicion of involvement of other members of the committee as Khatri himself was not on the panel.

The agency would soon question officials of Environment Ministry as well as representatives for Chariot group.
A CBI spokesperson said in a statement that a case had been registered against the Deputy Director of Environment and Forest Ministry and two other persons (Consultants of Bhubaneswar-based private firm).

The sources said Khatri is alleged to have been involved in several cases of this nature and was under surveillance of the agency.
After getting information about the bribe, the agency laid a trap and arrested Khatri and Chinmaya near Adhchini in South Delhi along with the money.
Repeated phone calls to Chariot group's headquarter did not result in any response as the receptionist maintained that no official was available. The mails sent to the address given on their website also bounced.
Meanwhile, both the arrested accused were produced before a court which has granted them four days of CBI custody