The eastern zone bench of the National Green Tribunal in Calcutta has directed the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) to submit an affidavit within 10 days on complaints that garbage was not removed from the city’s roads.

The tribunal, in its December 3 order, warned that the Howrah civic body’s senior officials may face penal consequences if it fails to submit the affidavit.

The bench of Justice B. Amit Sthalekar and expert member Arun Kumar Verma passed the order as the civic body has not filed the affidavit in two months despite an October directive based on a public interest litigation filed by environment activist Subhas Datta in April.

“The previous order of this tribunal was passed on 03.10.2024. More than two months have passed but till date no affidavit has been filed by the Commissioner, Howrah Municipal Corporation. It appears that Commissioner, Howrah Municipal Corporation, is absolutely slack in discharge of his duties, so far as environmental violations are concerned,” the order said.

The bench said petitioner Datta had filed a supplementary affidavit with photographs showing heaps of garbage on a street near the Howrah bridge and asked “how has the Howrah Municipal Corporation allowed this condition?”

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, too, had earlier flagged her concern about accumulating garbage in Howrah, Calcutta’s twin city.

Peeved by the lack of a formal response from the HMC, the bench referred to a Supreme Court order that says a fine and even a jail term may be imposed against those who fail to comply with NGT directives.

The Supreme Court order says: “Whoever fails to comply with any order or award or decision of the Tribunal… he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to ten crore rupees, or with both.”

“Where any Department of the Government fails to comply with any order or award or decision of the Tribunal under this Act, the Head of the Department shall be deemed to be guilty of such failure and shall be liable to be proceeded against for having committed an offence under this Act and punished accordingly.”

The chairperson of the HMC’s board of administrators, Sujoy Chakrabarty, said on Thursday: “I am unaware of the order. We will definitely take prompt action and comply with the court order.”