SRINAGAR: Deputy Commissioner of Poonch has constituted an auction committee to sell municipal properties, including a community hall, to recover Rs 2.71 crore in environmental compensation imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The penalty was levied against the Poonch Municipal Council (MC) for persistent violations of environmental laws, including the unscientific dumping of solid waste near the Poonch River and failure to operationalize a waste management plant. Official records submitted to the NGT indicate that nearly 19,000 metric tonnes of legacy waste remain untreated at the Shanti Nagar dumping site.
Of the total fine, only Rs 25 lakh has been recovered to date, leaving Rs 2.46 crore outstanding. The NGT had earlier imposed a personal cost of Rs 10,000 on the Deputy Commissioner in September 2024 for delays in recovering the amount.
Environmental activists have sharply criticized the move to auction public assets, calling it a symptom of deep administrative failure. Raja Muzaffar Bhat, the petitioner in the NGT case, argued that officials responsible for the violations should bear the financial burden.
“Why should taxpayers’ assets be sold to pay for the administration’s failures?” Bhat said. “Dumping waste near a river is a criminal offence under the Water Act, 1974. The compensation should be recovered from the salaries and pensions of the Chief Executive Officers and Deputy Commissioners who served here over the past 15 years.”
He also alleged that false affidavits were submitted to the NGT regarding progress on the waste management plant, which remains non-functional despite assurances given three years ago.
Local social activist Lokesh Sharma also highlighted the ongoing environmental threat. “Even after penalties were imposed on the Deputy Commissioner, waste continues to be dumped near the sacred Poonch River, also known as Pulast Nadi. This is a clear violation of multiple environmental laws, and stricter intervention from the NGT is urgently needed.” (KNS)
