Partly allowed

Manu Rathi v. State of Uttarakhand

NGT8 Jul 2026Original Application No. 1243/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Neutral Application regarding alleged environmental violations by paper mills in Uttarakhand. Tribunal noted post-inspection compliance by one unit but ordered levy of environmental damage compensation and compliance with joint committee recommendations for drain rejuvenation and waste management.

What did the court decide?

Levy of EDC directed; compliance with joint committee recommendations for industries, drain rejuvenation, and leachate management ordered.

Manu Rathi vs State of Uttarakhand — Environment and Pollution | NGT (2026)

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Item No.17 Court No. 1

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BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI

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Original Application No. 1243/2024

Manu Rathi & Anr.

Applicant(s)

Versus

State of Uttarakhand & Ors.

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Respondent(s)

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Date of hearing: 08.07.2026

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CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PRAKASH SHRIVASTAVA, CHAIRPERSON HON’BLE DR. AFROZ AHMAD, EXPERT MEMBER

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Applicant: Mr. Vivek Gupta, Mr. Ankit Verma & Mr. Govind Gupta, Advs. for Applicant

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Respondents: Mr. Somesh Chandra Jha & Mr. Anand K. Sigh, Advs. for MoEF & CC Mr. Adarsh Chamoli, Adv. for R - 1 (Through VC) Mr. Mukesh Verma & Ms. Vatsala Tripathi, Advs. for UKPCB (Through VC) Mr. Anubhav Anand Aron & Mr. Abhinav Anand, Advs. for R - 4, 5, 7 & 8 Mr. Saurabh Jain, Adv. for R - 6

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ORDER

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In this original application, applicant has alleged that respondent nos. 4 to 9, Paper Mills are operating in Tehsil Roorkee, District Haridwar in violation of the environmental norms and causing pollution by burning plastic waste and also discharging effluents in the open field.

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The applicant has alleged that these units instead of using the approved fuel were using wood, leaves, plastic waste, etc; resulting in the air pollution.

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Considering the allegation made by the applicant, Tribunal by order dated 22.10.2024 while issuing notice to the respondents had constituted the joint committee by directing as under:

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“5. Having regard to the seriousness of the allegation made in the OA, we also form a Joint Committee comprising the Member Secretary, Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB),

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representative of Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), RO, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Dehradun and District Magistrate, Haridwar. The District Magistrate, Haridwar will act as the coordinating agency. The Committee will visit the site, ascertain the extent of violation of environmental norms by the respondent units and also suggest remedial measures. Let this exercise be completed within a period of two months and the report be submitted before the Tribunal immediately thereafter.”

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The joint committee had carried out the inspection on 17-18 December, 2024 and had found all other respondent units complying with the environmental norms except respondent no.4-M/s Aroma Crafts & Tissues Pvt. Ltd. which has been found to be non-compliant with reference to the consented stack emission norms. The summarise status of the conclusion drawn by the joint committee is as under:-

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“ Table 4: General details and compliance status of industries inspected by joint committee

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S. No.	Name of Industry	Valid Ground Water NOCs(Yes/No)	Valid Water and Air consent (Yes/No) Yes	Valid Hazardous Waste Authorization (Yes/No)	ETP installed (Yes/No)	Air Pollution Control Device (APCD) (Yes/No)	Recipient drain	Compliance Status w.r.t. effluent discharge norms and emission norms
1	M/s Gangotri Paper Mill	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	ZLD	Complying
2	M/s Sagar Pulp & Paper	Expired on 12.03.2023; applied for renewal on 06.03.2023	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mundet	Complying
3	M/s Aadharshree Paper Mills	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mundet	Complying
4	M/s Aroma Craft &	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mundet	Complying w.r.t

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	Tissues Pvt.. Lid.							discharge norms & non- complying w.r.t. consented stack emission norms
5	M/s Sagar Paper Mills Pvt. Ltd.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Sheela Khala	Complying
6	M/s Uttaranchal Pulp & Paper Yes Mills Pvt. Ltd.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Sheela Khala	Complying ”

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It has been pointed out that subsequently respondent no.4 had taken the corrective measure and as per third party stack monitoring report carried out on 18.11.2025 submitted by the unit, stack emission norms were found to be compliant.

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The above facts reveal that respondent no.4 was non-compliant in respect of stack emission norms on the date of the inspection by the joint committee till the corrective measures are taken. Therefore, Environmental Damage Compensation (EDC) is required to be imposed upon respondent no.4 but no action in this regard has been taken by respondent no.2UKPCB.

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In terms of the direction of the Tribunal dated 09.03.2026, sample analysis report from discharge point of ETP in respect of heavy metals has been placed on record by UKPCB and report shows compliance status. Hence, report is taken on record.

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The joint committee in its report has made the following recommendations:

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“ 9. RECOMMENDATIONS

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9.1. Action plan for rejuvenation of Recipient drains

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For remediation/rejuvenation of recipient drains (i.e. Mundet drain & Sheela Khala drain), it is proposed that a low cost nature based in-situ treatment system like Constructed Wetland, rock filters, etc. may be installed. Numbers of treatment units may vary based on various factors like geography of drain (flow width, depth, and bed slope), characteristics of flowing wastewater, and discharging second order drains. Accordingly, an action plan for rejuvenation of Mundet drain & Sheela Khala drain is presented below:

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S. No.	Action points	Executing agency	Nature (Mandatory/ Optional)	Time line
1	Design of Constructed _	_ Wetland Systems based on the topology and waste water characteristics of recipient drains	Irrigation department/Jal Nigam in consultation with UKPCB and expert agency like Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) or others	Optional
2	Desilting of drains up to bed level and strengthening of bunds with _desilted material _	Irrigation department/Jal Nigam	Optional	Once in a year
3	Vegetation development on embankments of restored drain.	irrigation/Jal Nigam/ Forest department in _	consultation_	Optional
4	Setting up of series of in-situ constructed wetland systems where width of drain maximum based on flow & wastewater characteristics of drain at the _location _	with UKPCB and expert agency like CEMDE _or	_ others	Optional
5	Follow up monitoring of wastewater quality of drains.	UKPCB	Optional	Fortnightly

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9.2. Industries

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i. Industries shall operate the Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) properly so that no emission containing fly ash/black gases is emitted by industries.

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ii. Industries shall conduct regular maintenance of existing APCDs to ensure their optimal performance.

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iii. Industries shall ensure scientific storage & disposal of boiler ash. iv. Industries shall ensure maintain proper records of its fuel consumption in boiler, boiler ash generation and disposal.

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v Industries shall share the details of location etc. to UKPCB for site selection of boiler ash disposal, safe operation and for development of vegetation cover after exhaustion of the capacity of filling site according to the following criteria:

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Sites must be properly demarcated and fenced to restrict human and animal intrusion.

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After reaching capacity, sites must be properly capped with about 30 cm of topsoil to promote vegetation growth.

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Sites must be properly lined and made impermeable to prevent any contamination of surface water and groundwater.

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vi. Boiler ash generated by the industries shall be utilized for other beneficial purposes, including:

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Manufacturing building materials such as bricks, blocks, tiles, fiber cement sheets, pipes, boards, panels, and ash & geopolymer-based construction materials.

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Manufacturing cement and Ready Mix Concrete (RMC).

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Construction of road and flyover embankments.

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Controlled agricultural use based on soil testing.

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Any other eco-friendly purpose as notified from time to time.

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vii. Scattered/haphazard disposal of boiler ash by industrial units, if any, should be completely stopped.

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viii. Industries shall maintain proper record regarding generation, storage and disposal of boiler ash.

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ix. Installation of screen (ex. Rotary drum screener) at ETP inlet for separation of plastics & other coarse fractions from raw effluent stream and collected plastics shall be disposed scientifically.

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Χ. Install electromagnetic flow meter with totalizer at ETP Inlet, ETP outlet, effluent recycle line at ETP and effluent reuse point, and maintain logbooks for the same on daily basis.

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xi. Install separate flow meter with totalizer at all freshwater consumption points such as process area, domestic consumption and boiler, and maintain logbooks for the same on daily basis.

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xii. Ensure scientific disposal of non-paper solid waste (i.e. Plastic waste, boiler ash and ETP sludge) and maintain proper records of generation and disposal.

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xiii. Upgrade/augment their ETP by installing physico-chemical treatment, secondary biological treatment followed by tertiary treatment units consisting of Pressure Sand Filter & Activated Carbon Filter to comply with the discharge norms.

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xiv. Explore other advance effluent treatment technologies available like advance oxidation, membrane filtration etc. to ensure consistent compliance with stipulated discharge norms.

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xv. Industries shall also comply with the recommendations made by the joint committee constituted in compliance to Hon'ble NGT orders dated 12.09.2023 & 12.12.2023 in OA No. 540/2023 in the matter of Niramaya Jan Utthan Sansthan Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors., which are reproduced as below:

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Action Plan for management of Non-paper solid waste (ie. Plastic Waste, Boiler Ash, ETP Sludge)

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The action plan aims to establish a robust framework for the effective handling, disposal, and monitoring of Non-paper solid waste (ie. Plastic Waste, Boiler Ash, ETP Sludge) generated by industrial units.

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Key Components

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a. Constitution of a Society and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)

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i. Society Formation: A society shall be constituted, comprising all relevant stakeholders, including industrial units and

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regulatory bodies. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) shall facilitate the establishment of this society.

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ii. Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV): The society shall create an SPV specifically dedicated to managing Plastic Waste, Boiler Ash and ETP sludge generated by industrial units.

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b. Membership and Participation

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i. Membership: All industrial units within the cluster must be members of the society. This ensures collective responsibility and participation in waste management efforts.

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c. Waste Generation and Record Keeping

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i. Logbook Maintenance: Member units must maintain a logbook that records waste quantities, types, and disposal methods. This logbook will serve as a crucial reference for waste management audits and assessments.

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d. Supervision and Payment

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i. SPCB Supervision: The SPCBs shall supervise waste management practices within member units. This includes overseeing waste handling, transportation, disposal and verification through logbook & manifest system slip.

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ii. Cost Allocation: Member units shall bear the cost associated with waste management, including transportation, treatment, and final disposal.”

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These recommendations have not been objected to and they are required to be complied with. Therefore, respondent-project proponent will ensure due compliance of these recommendations and UKPCB will take appropriate action for their compliance. The UKPCB will also take an appropriate action for leachate management.

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In view of the above, we direct as under:-

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i. UKPCB is directed to ascertain the period of non-compliance by respondent no.4 with reference to the stack emission norms and levy environmental damage compensation for this violation after giving an opportunity of hearing. Let this exercise be completed within three months and action taken report be submitted before the Registrar General of the Tribunal by email at [email protected],

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ii. Respondents/project proponents are directed to comply with the recommendations made by the joint committee.

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iii. The UKPCB is directed to ensure the compliance of the above recommendations expeditiously and also to ensure appropriate action for leachate management.

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OA is accordingly disposed of.

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Prakash Shrivastava, CP

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Dr. Afroz Ahmad, EM

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July 08, 2026 Original Application No. 1243/2024 JG.

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Manu Rathi v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Manu Rathi v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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