National Green Tribunal seeks list of offenders dumping waste on railway tracks

NEW DELHI: Irked by the filth around railway tracks, the National Green Tribunal today slammed the Railways and directed it to submit a list of offenders who have refused to pay fine and dumped waste on the tracks.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar expressed displeasure at the sorry state of affairs prevailing around railway tracks and asked the PSU to file an affidavit stating the list of violators who refused to pay the fine of Rs 5,000.

Cracking the whip on those littering on railway platforms and tracks, the Tribunal had earlier this year announced a fine of Rs 5,000 on individuals spotted littering or throwing waste on the platforms and tracks.

"All your officers have appeared and assured the tribunal that they will take all steps needed to ensure cleanliness. You have not planted trees, not placed dust bins. People are still sitting every morning and evening around tracks and defecating.

"We had not asked you to clean the tracks all over the country, just the 20-km stretch passing through the capital, you have failed to clean that also. There is utter failure on the part of the officers concerned of the Railway," the bench said while posting the matter by tomorrow.

During the hearing, the counsel for Railways said that the department was taking all necessary steps to ensure cleanliness and there was an ongoing drive to achieve this target.

He also submitted newspaper reports stating that railway stations are being cleaned on a regular basis by the department.

Taking a stern view on houses constructed near railway tracks, the tribunal had earlier directed that if any municipal solid waste is found on tracks, each person living in those houses shall be liable to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation for causing pollution.

The green bench had also asked the authorities concerned to install mobile toilets near slum clusters in order to control pollution caused by plastic products and human defecation around railway tracks.