"Shocking": Supreme Court on solid waste processing problem in Delhi

The Supreme Court recently expressed shock over the problems surrounding solid waste management in Delhi, noting that the city was producing around 3,000 tonnes of solid waste everyday in excess of its processing capacity..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the same was adding to the national capital's pollution, and sought the response of Delhi's municipal corporations and Cantonment Board."One of the shocking features of the report submitted by CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) is the finding that though the average daily generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Delhi is around 11,000 tonnes, the capacity of the present waste processing plants is only to the extent of about 8,000 tonnes per day. Therefore, in the capital city, every day, 3,000 tonnes of MSW is generated which cannot be processed. Obviously, that is adding to the pollution. The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 (the 2016 Rules) are in place for the last eight years. Even in the capital city, sadly, there is non-compliance with the 2016 Rules," the Court stated. The concerned authorities were directed to hold a meeting with the Central and Delhi governments to devise a concrete action plan in this regard by the next date of hearing..The bench was hearing a case dealing with the deteriorating air quality in Delhi and stubble burning in nearby States, which is said to be one of the biggest contributors to air pollution.Earlier, the Court had strongly suggested that the practice of stubble burning should be stopped, adding that schemes like odd-even days for vehicles to combat air pollution are mere optics.It had also suggested that paddy cultivation should be phased out of Punjab, and directed that non-Delhi registered taxis be barred from entering the national capital.During the hearing of the matter on April 22, the Court directed the States of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan to inform it of steps taken to fill up vacancies in their Pollution Control Boards.On the other issues, it directed the concerned authorities to verify whether all construction sites involved in construction and demolition activities have been registered on respective web portals.It called for stricter action against the non-compliant sites and details of the Enforcement Task Force's functioning..The matter will be taken up next on May 13..[Read order]