NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court took strong exception to the Delhi government’s failure to provide figures concerning the daily generation of solid waste across the city on Monday. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan described the situation as a “shocking state of affairs” and reprimanded the government for not complying with the court’s November 11 order to furnish the data.
“We want basic data on the generation of solid waste. That data you have not given as well. This is an shocking state of affairs by the Delhi Government. They cannot provide simple data even after so many days of our last order,” Justice Oka remarked during a hearing on deteriorating air quality in and around the national capital.
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On November 11, the top court directed the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government to convene a meeting with all relevant stakeholders including the MCD to discuss the implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 (2016 rules). The Delhi Government was also asked to submit data on daily solid waste generation in the city.
When questioned about the failure to provide the data despite the court’s order, Special Secretary SM Ali requested more time to comply. “We will comply with the order. We will immediately ask the concerned bodies to provide us with data. Kindly allow us some more days,” Ali submitted.
The Court sternly warned the Delhi government and directed them to furnish the data by December 19. It also mandated the Chief Secretary’s physical presence before the Court on the said date. “Notwithstanding clear direction to the Chief Secretary of Delhi Government, nothing has been done even for data. This aspect will be heard on December 19 and we request the Chief Secretary to be physically present before this court. This is complete negligence by the Delhi Government,” the Court ordered.
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The Bench clarified that contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against the officials of the Delhi government if an affidavit containing the details sought by the November 11 order is not submitted by December 18. “By December 18, if the affidavit is not filed by the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government recording compliance with our November 11 order then this court will take action under the Contempt of Courts Act against officials of Delhi government,” the Court said.
The Court had previously warned of ‘harsh orders’ over the non-implementation of the 2016 rules for solid waste management in the capital city. It highlighted that the non-implementation had resulted in garbage/solid waste being illegally stored in landfill sites prone to fires.
In July this year, the Court expressed concern over untreated solid waste in Delhi and directed the Central government to convene a meeting to find a solution. The Court noted that no concrete solution seemed to be in sight until 2027 to treat 11,000 tonnes of solid waste generated in Delhi every day and expressed concern that the situation could lead to a public health emergency.