₹1.44 cr penalty on rubber company in Pune for green damages

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in its reply affidavit submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on April 22 has proposed imposing a penalty of ₹1.44 crore on a rubber manufacturing company based in Talegaon Dabhade for environmental damages. The case has been pending with the NGT for final order.

In 2022, one Mahendra Hasabnis complained to the NGT that carbon emissions from this Talegaon Dabhade-based rubber manufacturing company were causing the death of cattle owned by him. Hasabnis demanded action against the company for the same.

The said company is part of a Spain-based corporation and specialises in the development and production of rubber and plastic components for a variety of applications.

Taking cognisance of Hasabnis’s complaint, the NGT registered a case against the company and instructed the MPCB to conduct an inspection of the company and verify Hasabnis’s claims. The NGT also directed the MPCB to decide the environmental damage compensation (EDC) amount in the case.

As per the NGT’s directions, the MPCB carried out an inspection of the company and submitted a reply affidavit in which it proposed imposing a penalty of ₹1.44 crore on the company in question for environmental damages. As per the reply affidavit submitted by Babasaheb Kukade, sub-regional officer, MPCB, the EDC amount has been decided based on five components including the pollution index of the industrial sector, number of days that environmental norms were violated, scale of operation, location factor etc. The EDC has been finalised as ₹14,460,937.5

When contacted, J S Salunkhe, regional officer, MPCB, said, “The board has submitted the reply affidavit as per the NGT’s directions and it is based on the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines. However, further details cannot be shared as the issue is pending before the NGT.”

Hasabnis, the complainant in this case, said, “I have lost nearly 85 cattle since 2019 and I have submitted the post-mortem report of at least eight of the 85 (now-deceased) cattle (cows and buffaloes), and the report acknowledges that the death was caused due to carbon emissions. The remaining report could not be produced due to various reasons including non-availability of the report during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many trees too have been impacted by carbon emissions. I have been raising the issue since long but earlier, the authorities neglected it and hence, I had to file a complaint with the NGT. Although the carbon emissions’ issue has been sorted out for now, the company should compensate me for the losses I have experienced in the past and for this, I have demanded ₹3.5 crore as compensation. Now that the decision is pending with the court, I am hopeful that the NGT will take the appropriate decision on the same.”

When contacted, representatives of the Talegaon Dabhade-based company were unavailable for comment.