The Supreme Court highlighted the crucial need for waste segregation in NCR to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules, urging states to report their actions and proposing best practices to tackle pollution issues.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has emphasized that segregation of waste at source is of “vital importance” for the environment and has sought compliance reports from NCR states regarding adherence to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed concern over the widespread non-compliance with the 2016 Rules, stating that it has negatively impacted all cities across the country.
“In one of the orders, we have observed that all smart city projects are in progress. How the cities can become smart without compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules?”
the bench questioned.
The National Capital Region (NCR) includes Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The court noted that failure to properly segregate waste could lead to more pollution, even from waste-to-energy plants.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, the amicus curiae in the pollution case, pointed out that the low percentage of waste segregation in the NCR is a major concern. She argued that sending unsegregated waste to waste-to-energy plants increases pollution rather than reducing it.
“As rightly submitted by the amicus curiae, the segregation of waste at source is of vital importance for the environment. If there is no proper segregation, even waste-to-energy projects will create more pollution,”
the bench reiterated.
The Supreme Court has directed all NCR states to submit affidavits by the end of March detailing the compliance measures taken by urban local bodies under the 2016 Rules.
The court has also instructed the states to outline a detailed waste management plan, specifying timelines and implementing agencies.
“Needless to add that the affidavits will state compliance in relation to all urban local bodies within the NCR,”
the bench stated.
Additionally, the authorities have been asked to highlight the “best practices” they plan to implement for solid waste management.
Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been directed to submit a report on the environmental impact of waste-to-energy projects.
Previously, the Supreme Court had warned that if authorities fail to find a real solution to untreated solid waste, it might issue drastic orders to halt certain construction activities.
On January 27, the court noted that Delhi generates approximately 3,000 tonnes of untreated solid waste per day, and this number is expected to rise in the future.
“We are facing a huge problem which arises due to the fact that approximately 3,000 tonnes of solid waste generated every day in Delhi remains untreated. With the passage of time, this figure is bound to increase,”
the bench observed.
The issue of solid waste management in Delhi-NCR is being examined as part of the ongoing case regarding pollution in the region. With the court closely monitoring the situation, the NCR states are under pressure to take immediate and effective action.