HYDERABAD: The National Green Tribunal, Chennai has disposed of an appeal by four pharma companies challenging the “environmental compensation” levied on them by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) for polluting groundwater and causing air pollution for a period of over 1,000 days in the region.It was in January, 2021 that the companies had been asked to pay a fine of Rs 18.25 lakh each for causing pollution for 1,125 days across many years in Polepalli village in Jadcherla, Mahbubnagar.
The companies -- Aurobindo Pharma, APL Healthcare Limited, Amneal Oncology, challenged the fine levied. The NGT, however, upheld the compensation amount to be paid. Previously, a joint committee constituted had found high pollution levels caused to a set of agricultural fields on the surroundings of the SEZ.
There was high salt content in the water from the bores. The analysis results of soil samples collected from the agricultural fields from the northern side of the SEZ, where the complainants’ fields were located, revealed that the pH of the soil is slightly alkaline.