BIMLA VARTA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD counsel for the petitioner, counsel for the Dhanbad Municipality, the learned Additional Advocate General for the State of Jharkhand and Mr.Jerath, counsel for the Pollution Control Board.

(2.) THE petitioner raised objections to the construction of a sulabh shauchalaya within the Dhanbad Municipality. The petitioner is seen to be the owner of a residential house lying adjacent to the site wherein the sulabh shauchaluya was proposed to be constructed. The petitioner approached this Court on a plea that public interest will suffer and pollution will increase if the shauchalaya is established in the site in question. Various contentions were sought to be raised by counsel for the petitioner with particular reference to Sec.215 of the Blhar Municipal Manual and Sec.25 of the Wafer (Prevention and .Control of Pollution) Act. The Dhanbad Municipality appeared and contended that the construction of the shauchalaya had progressed to a great extent and that there was no ground to interfere by this Court. It was contended that the people of the locality have been using the site for releasing themselves and the waste materials were being dumped as the site leading to pollution and it was in the interests of the inhabitants of the locality and the Municipality to have the shauchalaya constructed and duly maintained. The allegation that public nuisance will be caused and that there will be pollution was denied.

(3.) PURSUANT to this order, the State Pollution Control Board visited the site with notice to the concerned parties and has filed a report before us. In that report, the Pollution Control Board has suggested that there was not much threat of pollution if the shauchalaya is constructed. But it noted that the work for decentralized effluent treatment plant is yet to be started. 1L also noticed that the land is at present used for garbage disposal. After making some suggestions, it was stated that there will he no environmental pollution; but it was emphasised that after the commissioning of the sulabh complex with full fledged decentralized effluent treatment facilities with concept of zero discharge, there will be improvement in the environment of the locality considerably. But the Pollution Control Board indicated that the maintenance part of the sulabh shauchalaya was also a matter of consideration from the environmental point of view. The report given by the Honorary Chairman of the sulabh International Social Service Organization giving certain details was also annexed as Annexure 2 to the report.