Chandigarh: Action Against Environmental Degradation

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) issued fines worth Rs 16 crore against the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGI Chandigarh), Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH-32), and Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH-16) for not treating their wastewater and disposing of the untreated substance into the drains over the past five years.

Based on the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the committee imposed a fine against the premium government institutes for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by releasing untreated water into the Municipal Corporation drains several times without treating them at the sewage treatment plant (STP) and effluent treatment plant (ETP).

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A fine worth Rs 5.63 crore was imposed against the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGI Chandigarh), around Rs 5.62 crore was charged against Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and Rs 5.62 crore penalty was imposed on Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16 for violating NGT guidelines by releasing untreated wastewater to the corporation drains between February 19, 2019, and March 28, 2023.

Speaking to Indian Express, a committee member said, "The fine was slapped after serving repeated notices to these three institutes about the violations. If the health institutes fail to pay the fine, penal interest will be included in the amount. The institutes failed to install Effluent Treatment Plants (ESP) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) within their premises, which is mandatory."

According to a senior CPCC official, the institutes were issued several notices multiple times but they continued to violate the norms and refused to follow them. The official said that the institutes failed to set up effluent treatment plants (ETP) and sewage treatment plants (STP), and continued to release untreated sewage to MC drains.

PGIMER has released 3.5 million gallons per day (MGD), GMCH has released around 1.5 MGD and GMSH has discharged around 1 MGD, reveals the committee report.

UT chief engineer CB Ojha said that the work on ETP and STP are currently ongoing at GMCH-32, and is slated to be completed by the end of August. Ojha said, "Tenders have also been floated for GMSH-16 and work will begin soon."

Another senior UT official said that penal interest would be calculated on the fine amount if the hospitals fail to pay the fine, as per a media report in the Hindustan Times.

In January, The UT government appointed a three-member committee, the CPCC, for using the Environmental Compensation Fund available with the CPCC for the restoration of the environment. The three members are:

• Home Secretary Nitin Kumar Yadav
• Finance Secretary Vijay Namdeorao Zade
• Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden Debendra Dalai

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