WA / AUTHORITIES /

Appellate Authority

Under the Act, a person must seek prior consent from the state board for the following activities:

• Establishment of any industry, operation or process or any treatment or disposal system
• Extension or addition to such disposal system (mentioned above)
• Use of new or altered outlets for the discharge of sewage
• Continued use of an existing disposal system (before the commencement of this Act)

The procedure for application for such consent and the procedure by which the state board may grant or reject such consent have been listed out in the Act. The state board may grant its consent and thereby impose certain conditions for the use of such systems or may reject such application. A person aggrieved by an order issued by the State Board in relation to the above (i.e. either aggrieved by the conditions imposed or varied by the state board or by the rejection of the application for consent) may prefer an appeal to an appellate authority. 

The state government may constitute an appellate authority within the state to hear appeals with respect to the above.

The appellate authority consists of a single person or three persons as the state government may think fit to appoint.

Procedure followed by the appellate authority

A person may prefer an appeal to the appellate authority within thirty days from the date on which the order is communicated to him. The appellate authority may entertain the appeal after the expiry of this period if such authority is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
On receipt of an appeal, the appellate authority shall dispose of the appeal as expeditiously as possible, after giving the appellant and the state board an opportunity of being heard.
If the appellate authority determines that any condition imposed or the variation of any condition was unreasonable then:

• where the appeal is in respect of the unreasonableness of any condition imposed, such authority may direct either that the condition shall be treated as annulled or that there shall be substituted for it such condition as appears to it to be reasonable;
• where the appeal is in respect of the unreasonableness of any variation of a condition, such authority may direct either that the condition shall be treated as continuing in force unvaried or that it shall be varied in such manner as appears to it to be reasonable.

The form and manner in which an appeal may be preferred, the fees payable for such appeal and the procedure to be followed by the appellate authority is prescribed by the state government by notification in the official gazette.

Go to ‘Grant of consent for disposal systems’

The state government may also revise an order made by the state board in relation to the grant of consent for the activities mentioned above. However, the state government shall not revise any such order where an appeal against that order lies to the appellate authority, but has not been preferred or where an appeal has been preferred, such appeal is pending before the appellate authority.