CHANDIGARH, Aug. 21 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and other environmental regulators over the alleged failure to recover and utilise environmental compensation, with Rs.170.12 crore imposed on urban local bodies (ULBs) across Punjab over the past five years but only Rs.21.87 crore recovered. Nearly Rs.149 crore in penalties remains unrealised, while crores of rupees already collected are lying in bank accounts and earning interest instead of being used for environmental remediation. The NGT principal bench passed the order on August 19 on a plea filed by Sangrur-based advocate and activist Kamal Anand. The bench, headed by chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad, issued notices after the petition highlighted the manner in which environmental compensation collected from industries, farmers and municipal bodies was allegedly being held without being fully deployed for ecological restoration. The NGT will hear the matter on October 29. According to RTI disclosures obtained by Anand, the PPCB collected Rs.4.91 crore from farmers as environmental compensation for stubble burning but spent only Rs.29.83 lakh on remediation. The amount lying in savings accounts, including the interest component, stood at Rs.5.12 crore. The petition also flagged the handling of compensation collected from industries and mining units. Against Rs.45.83 crore collected for environmental violations, Rs.10.29 crore remained idle in bank accounts. The PPCB also allegedly accumulated more than Rs.1.45 crore in interest by parking industrial and stubble-burning compensation in fixed deposits and savings accounts. The petitioner argued that these funds should instead have been deployed for environmental restoration in polluted industrial areas and rural regions. The issue of municipal solid waste management forms another part of the petition. Over the past five years, the PPCB imposed Rs.170.12 crore in environmental compensation on defaulting ULBs but recovered only Rs.21.87 crore, leaving Rs.149 crore unrecovered. Of the amount collected, Rs.9.37 crore remained unspent in bank accounts and had generated nearly Rs.2 crore in interest as of December 2025....