HP pollution board failed to solve Koksar garbage problem: UP group

Kullu: A Noida-based environmental group has told the National Green Tribunal that Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB) has failed to take any effective measures to solve the problem of garbage disposal in Koksar village of Lahaul Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh. In its objections filed to the NGT against a recent HPSPCB report, Friends, which is based in Noida, and is also the petitioner in the case, has stated that the contents of the Pollution Board report are wrong and misleading.“The action taken of the HPSPCB only talks about issuing show cause notices to the Koksar municipal bodies, but lacks action despite the fact that not only Koksar village, but even the North Portal area of the Atal Tunnel has been lying littered with garbage,” states the environmental group in its objections, filed recently to the Tribunal.
Accusing the HPSPCB of being “indifferent,” the environmental group has told the Tribunal that “the Pollution Board has issued only three showcause notices and two letters in a period of around 18 months, which shows its indifference in dealing with such a matter of grave concern.” The group has further stated that even the number of violators fined in Koksar is low.
“In 2023, only 7 violators were fined and in all, only Rs 16,500 was imposed as fine. These numbers are too low considering the magnitude of the problem and demonstrate a lackadaisical attitude of the board,” the group has told the NGT, while requesting it to issue directions to the HPSPCB to file a report on the garbage produced in Koksar, Manali, Solang valley and Rohtang. To months back in April, the HPSPCB had submitted a report to the NGT stating that a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) is under construction in the eco-sensitive Koksar for better disposal of garbage, and that it has issued directions to the Gram Panchayat, Koksar, to comply with the provisions of the solid waste management and plastic waste management rules in area under its jurisdiction.
The pollution board had also stated that it had also directed the SDM-cum Member Secretary of Special Area Development Authority (SADA), Keylong, to develop infrastructure for the collection, storage, segregation, transportation and disposal of solid waste being generated in the area. The boards had submitted its report following directions issued by the NGT on February 7 earlier this year on a petition filed by the Friends. The petition had stated that Koksar was an extremely eco-sensitive area, which remained frozen for more than seven months of the year, and non-disposal of solid waste was polluting the area.