Overview

• The Supreme Court has stayed the National Green Tribunal’s November 2024 order that imposed ₹50.44 crore in environmental compensation on the Delhi Jal Board and Municipal Corporation of Delhi for polluting stormwater drains and the Yamuna.
• A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai, alongside Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, issued notices on separate appeals filed by DJB and MCD.
• Additional Solicitor General S V Raju contended that the hefty fine imposed a substantial financial burden on public bodies during unresolved disputes over liability and compliance obligations.
• The NGT had found DJB failed to maintain separate pipelines for sewage and stormwater, resulting in untreated discharges into the Yamuna, and criticized the MCD for covering parts of the Kushak drain with concrete to create parking space.
• The matter is slated for further hearing in two months, when the Supreme Court will decide whether to lift or uphold the penalty as it considers the civic bodies’ appeals.