“Shocking state of affairs”: SC on 3,000 tonnes of Delhi’s unprocessed Municipal waste

On Monday, April 22nd, 2024, the Supreme Court termed it “shocking” that 3,000 tonnes of 11,000 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in Delhi every day is not processed.

Environmental activist and lawyer MC Mehta filed a petition against pollution in Delhi with the court in 1985. CAQM informed the court on April 19 of the actions done to reduce pollution using a multifaceted strategy. After reading a report from the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) on pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding regions, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan declared that the problem is grave.

“So, it means every day 3,000 tonnes of MSW is generated that cannot be processed in the capital city,” the bench said, as it issued notice to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and the Delhi Cantonment Board.

“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.

The court requested their response by May 10 and directed the Center’s Urban Development department to create and document a strategy to address the issue, as well as for the three civic organizations to organize a meeting of officials to discuss compliance with the 2016 guidelines before the next hearing.

“The state should stop grants for the development of more residential colonies, or else more MSW will be generated,” the bench observed as it issued notice to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and the Delhi Cantonment Board.

The top court was considering requests for orders to the authorities to stop the deteriorating levels of air pollution in Delhi and the surrounding areas. The bench further noted that very few people have been subjected to deterrent action for violating the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules of 2016.

“We want all authorities to respond on the implementation of 2016 Rules as it is a sad state of affairs that MCD has so far established capacity of processing only 8,000 tonne waste,” the bench said.

Regarding stubble burning, the bench stated that it would want to review the CAQM’s standard operating procedure, structure, and how the various states’ task forces operate. In regards to farm fires, CAQM said that there has been a progressive decrease in farm fires over time from September 15 to November 30 because of the action plan on prevention and control of stubble burning. Indeed, experts believe that the total area burned is a more accurate indicator of stubble burning than the quantity of agricultural fires.

The CAQM report pointed out that “further capacity augmentation of about 7,000 tonne per day is underway” and this could be more than sufficient to cater to the current load. At present, the report said, “a total legacy solid waste of around 280 lakh metric tonne (MT) is dumped at the three landfill sites – Bhalsawa, Ghazipur, and Okhla — is being liquidated, and about 129 lakh MT MSW has so far been bio-mined.”

Aishwarya Bhati, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG), proposed that CAQM look into the matter since it has all relevant board authorities.

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.

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