The Supreme Court on July 26 said solid waste management in Delhi is in a “sorry state” and may lead to a public health emergency.
“Going by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi [MCD] affidavit and timelines, there are no possibilities of adequate facilities in Delhi till 2027 to treat 11,000 tonnes of solid waste in Delhi. No guesswork is needed that by then solid waste generated will multiply. It is a sorry state of affairs in the Capital city and can lead to a public health emergency,” a Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka observed.
The court agreed with amicus curiae, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, that such a situation in Delhi may lead to an emergency as generation of solid waste daily was more than 11,000 metric tonnes and processing capacity of waste treatment plants was only 8,073 metric tonnes.
“Over 3,000 tonnes of untreated solid waste per day in Delhi may lead to a public health emergency,” the Bench cautioned.
The Bench also dealt with the issue in Gurugram, Faridabad and Greater Noida.
“The only way of effective implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules is, pass drastic orders, no further development, no building permissions be granted,” it observed.
The court directed the Environment Secretary to convene a meeting of the officials of MCD and the Delhi government for working out an immediate solution to the problem.
The apex court also directed the Secretary to call a meeting of the Commissioners of municipal corporations of Gurugram and Faridabad, officers of the Greater Noida Development Authority and others to come out with solutions to deal with the crisis which could lead to a health emergency.
The court scheduled the next hearing on September 6.
