January 29, 2026 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department and its contractor to jointly pay ₹47.14 lakh as environmental compensation to a trout fish farmer in Kullu district, holding them responsible for polluting a mountain stream during bridge construction that led to the death of thousands of fish and eggs.
In an order pronounced on January 28, 2026, the Principal Bench of the NGT found that muck, silt, cement residue, and construction debris from a bridge project over Haripur Nallah were illegally discharged into the stream, severely contaminating downstream water used by the Himalayan Trout Fish Farm at Haripur village near Manali.
The application was filed by Kushal Gupta, who runs the trout farm about 50 metres downstream from the construction site. Gupta told the tribunal that the farm relies on gravity-fed water from the nallah, which provides the clean, oxygen-rich flow essential for trout breeding. He claimed that despite advance warnings, construction activity polluted the water, choking fish gills with silt and destroying eggs in large numbers.
Tribunal records show that Gupta had issued a legal notice as early as May 2018, cautioning authorities against dumping debris into the stream. The damage ultimately occurred in December 2018, when large quantities of muck entered the watercourse during construction of an RCC bridge on the Kullu–Manali left bank road.
Multiple official inspections corroborated the farmer’s claims. Reports by the Gram Panchayat, revenue officials, and the Fisheries Department confirmed extensive fish mortality and egg destruction caused by muddy, polluted water. The Deputy Director of Fisheries, after inspecting the farm in March 2019, concluded that excavated soil from the bridge site had altered water quality, preventing trout from absorbing oxygen and leading to mass deaths.
The tribunal rejected arguments that the compensation claim was time-barred, noting that the farmer had earlier approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court and was also entitled to exclusion of the COVID-19 limitation period as per Supreme Court directions.
On the issue of compensation, the NGT accepted the damage assessment prepared by the Fisheries Department based on government-approved rates, which calculated losses at ₹47.14 lakh. A lower estimate later suggested by another fisheries officer was found unreliable due to inconsistent valuation methods and unsupported pricing assumptions.
Holding the construction contractor directly responsible for illegal dumping and the Public Works Department accountable for oversight failures, the tribunal ruled that both entities are jointly and severally liable to pay the compensation within two months. It clarified that the government department may recover the amount from the contractor if it chooses.
The case reinforces the tribunal’s position that public infrastructure projects cannot be executed at the cost of environmental harm and that affected individuals are entitled to compensation for proven ecological damage.
Case Reference : Original Application No. 383/2024, Kushal Gupta v. State of Himachal Pradesh & Others; for the applicant: Mr. Rana Sandeep Bussa and Ms. Divya Tomar, Advocates; for the respondents: Mr. Vaibhav Srivastava, Additional Advocate General for Respondent No. 6, and Ms. Priya Pachouri, Advocate for Respondent No. 4 (through video conferencing).
