National Green Tribunal(NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 68 crore on 343 stone crushers in Charkhi Dadri for violating environmental norms.
The order came on a petition by local resident Vinod Kumar Jangra, who alleged that dust and dirt from the stone crushers were adversely affecting the environment and public health.
Following the plea, the court had asked for a factual report. In the assessment, the AQI of the area around the crushers was found to be more than 200 on an average. This prompted NGT to ask the pollution board to take action.
“We also fix interim compensation at the rate of Rs 20 lakh against each of the stone crushers operating in the area on ‘polluter pays’ principle. The compensation will cover the period from five years prior to filing of this application and till date. This will apply to all 343 identified stone crushers as mentioned in the report of the joint committee dated 17.01.2023,” the order read.
The bench also ordered that no stone crushing unit would be allowed to operate in the area until the air quality index was in the ‘moderate’ category and dropped below 200.
The amount collected would be used for the restoration of the environment in the area.