CMC chief gets jail for pollution

Times of India

Bangalore, Apr 9: Make the polluter pay — this is talked about, but not implemented. Show-cause notices issued by the pollution control board to civic agencies for air and water pollution find their way into the dustbin. But a recent district court ruling might bring about some change — it has broken new ground by sentencing a municipal commissioner to 18 months’ imprisonment, holding him responsible for discharging sewage into water bodies. 

This is perhaps the first case of its kind to have seen such an outcome. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) fought for six years against the city municipal council, Sirsi, for violating the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and discharging sewage generated from the city into Boodihonda and Kotekere tanks. On March 24, II Additional Judicial Magistrate First Class of Sirsi ordered 18 months’ simple imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine for A H Gurumurthy, the then CMC commissioner, for the offence punishable under the Act. 

“It is a serious reminder to all agencies which flout pollution norms. The showcause notices that the Board issues are always taken lightly. We have started following up on such cases and will take it to a logical end. There are a few cases in the court which the Board will fight it out,’’ KSPCB chairman H C Sharatchandra told The Times of India. 

According to the complainant, KSPCB’s environmental officer, the CMC is bound to look after the health and sanitary conditions by providing a proper sewage treatment and disposal system. However, the CMC was discharging polluting matter and untreated sewage into the tanks. An inspection was carried out by the CMC commissioner and samples were collected by the Board. The analysis report clearly showed water pollution. 

Showcause notices were issued which were ignored by the CMC and the violation continued. Subsequently, a case was registered by the KSPCB which ended by way of warning notes to erring agencies. 

“The commissioner has retired now, but the sentence holds good. Similarly, we are fighting cases against BWSSB where a chief engineer has also retired. This doesn’t mean they can get away,’’ Sharatchandra pointed out.