The National Green Tribunal 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 operating in a residential area of Bhubaneswar, warning that the board’s member secretary may have to appear before the tribunal if the order is not followed.
The East Zone bench issued the direction on October 7 while hearing a petition concerning the facility at GA Colony in Bharatpur, within the limits of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. The case was filed by a private organisation based in Bhubaneswar. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy represented the petitioner.
The bench, comprising 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 to be heard. The board has also been asked to file its action-taken affidavit at least one day before the next hearing.
The tribunal stated that if the direction was not complied with, the OSPCB member secretary would have to appear before it, either physically or through video conference, to explain the circumstances of the non-compliance. The matter has been listed for final hearing on December 16, 2026.
The direction followed an affidavit dated February 23, 2026, in which the OSPCB member secretary acknowledged that no authorisation had 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.
In its petition, the organisation questioned the legality of establishing the composting centre close to residential houses and alleged that the facility did not have an adequate buffer zone. It further alleged that foul odour, waste-handling operations and round-the-clock activity had caused persistent nuisance and potential health hazards for residents.
According to the petition, the conditions had made life “unbearable” for senior citizens, women and children living in the neighbourhood. These allegations remain part of the proceedings before the tribunal and have not been independently established in the material available for this report.
The NGT had issued notices on December 17, 2025, to the BMC commissioner, the concerned state department secretaries, the Khurda collector, the Bhubaneswar police commissioner, and the member secretaries of the OSPCB and the Central Pollution Control Board. The respondents have since filed their responses.
The next procedural milestone is the OSPCB’s action-taken affidavit, which must be submitted before the final hearing. The tribunal will then consider the remedial measures and the responses of the authorities involved in the matter.
