K'taka Pollution Control Board imposes Rs 87L fine on apartment for encroaching stormwater drain

The state pollution regulator has slapped a fine of Rs 87.18 lakh on an apartment building for encroaching a stormwater drain (SWD) buffer zone.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has fined SV Elegant Apartment in Kumbena Agrahara village for constructing several structures, including a swimming pool, by encroaching upon the buffer zone of a nala and “blocking the stream”, stated a letter from the KSPCB Environmental Officer for Mahadevapura.

The KSPCB invoked the ‘polluter pays’ principle as per the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which took up a case based on a petition by activist Paramesh V.

The illegal structures were demolished last year.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines require polluters to pay compensation for any discharge in violation of consent conditions.

This includes instances of non-compliance with directions, intentional avoidance of data submission, and damage to the environment caused by both accidental and intentional discharges and injection of treated/partially treated or untreated waste water into the ground water.

The KSPCB said Venkateshwara Builders, who constructed the apartment, did not comply with the directions issued in the Consent for Establishment (CFE) dated August 29, 2018.

The CFE included a direction to include a buffer zone towards any lake and the stormwater drain.

The KSPCB has determined the total environmental compensation of Rs 87.18 lakh by taking into account the number of days the violation persisted.

“The applicant has non-complied to the same by constructing a swimming pool, water closet and bathrooms in the nala buffer,” the KSPCB said.