Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to submit an action-taken affidavit on remedial measures against an allegedly unauthorised micro-composting centre in a residential area of Bhubaneswar, warning that its member secretary may have to appear before the tribunal if the direction is not complied with.The NGT’s East zone bench issued the direction on Oct 7 while hearing a petition filed by a Bhubaneswar-based private organisation against the facility at GA Colony in Bharatpur under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy represented the petitioner.The bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi, judicial member, and expert members A Senthil Vel and Ishwar Singh directed the OSPCB to take remedial action in accordance with the law after giving the municipal corporation an opportunity of being heard. The bench asked the board to file its action-taken affidavit at least one day before the next hearing. “Failing which the member secretary, OSPCB shall appear before this tribunal physically or through video conference to explain the circumstances of non-compliance,” the order stated.The direction followed an affidavit dated Feb 23, 2026, in which the OSPCB member secretary acknowledged that “no authorization has been issued” for the facility. The affidavit also stated that regular monitoring, as envisaged under Rule 16(4) of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, had not been conducted. The tribunal has scheduled the matter for final hearing on Dec 16, 2026.In its petition, the petitioner questioned the legality of the composting centre, alleging that it had been established close to residential houses without an adequate buffer zone. It claimed that the facility’s operations caused persistent nuisance and posed potential health hazards to residents.The petition further alleged that foul odour, waste-handling activities and round-the-clock operations had made life “unbearable” for senior citizens, women and children living in the neighbourhood.The tribunal had issued notices on Dec 17, 2025, to the BMC commissioner, concerned state department secretaries, Khurda collector, Bhubaneswar police commissioner, and the member secretaries of the OSPCB and Central Pollution Control Board. The respondents have since filed their responses.
