It’s shocking that Delhi discards 3,000 tons of solid municipal garbage without processing it: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court described it as “shocking” on Monday that just 3,000 of the 11,000 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) produced daily in Delhi are being treated.
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.

“The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 have been in effect for eight years; however, there is no compliance in the capital city. The bench remarked, “It’s shocking. According to the CAQM report, Delhi generates 11,000 metric tons of MSW on average per day, but only 8,000 metric tons of that is processed.”
“This implies that 3,000 tonnes of MSW are produced daily that cannot be handled in the capital city,” the court said while notifying the Delhi Cantonment Board, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The court requested their answer 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 prior to the next hearing.
The top court was considering requests for orders from the authorities to stop the deteriorating levels of air pollution in Delhi and the surrounding regions.

The court also noted that relatively few people have been subjected to deterrent action for violating the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules of 2016.
The court said, “Stricter action is required against sites that generate uncontrolled construction and demolition (C&D) wastes,” and it promised to look into the matter further.
Regarding stubble burning, the bench said that it would want to review the CAQM’s standard operating procedure, structure, and the way the task forces in the various states are working.
“We would like to see the power and duties of different task forces working to check the stubble burning,” said the bench.