3,000 tonnes of solid municipal waste goes unprocessed in Delhi [Read Order]

New Delhi: Alarmed by the untreated solid waste adding to the pollution load in the Capital, the Supreme Court sought a ‘concrete action plan’ to fix Delhi’s garbage woes.

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A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, which perused a report of the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) on pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas said it is a serious issue that 3,000 tonnes of solid municipal waste goes unprocessed in Delhi.

"It's been eight years since the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 have come into existence but in the capital city, there is no compliance. It's shocking," the bench said, adding that the CAQM report says on average 11,000 tonnes of MSW is generated in Delhi every day but only 8,000 tonnes are processed.

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Taking this on record, the bench posted the matter for hearing on May 13. “We direct CAQM to submit a report on the non-compliance of 2016 Rules. The commission shall call a meeting of the three authorities (MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment Board) responsible for complying with 2016 Rules. A concrete action plan will be devised and submitted to the court by May 10,” the bench said.

The bench also flagged non-compliance of the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules of 2016 and said deterrent action has been taken against very few.

“Some authority must verify whether all construction sites involved in construction and demolition (C&D) activities have been registered on respective web portals; (b) There are number of non-compliant C&D activities site. However, action of closure appears to have been initiated only against selected few. Dust pollution is created by C&D activities and therefore, stricter action is required against the non-compliant C&D sites,” the order reads.  

[Read Order]