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Supreme
Court Of India
Record Of Proceeding
|
| Writ
Petition (Civil) No. 888/1996 |
ALMITRA
H.PATEL & ANR
|
Petitioner
(s) |
| VERSUS |
| U O
I & ORS |
Respondent
(s) |
| (With Appln(s). for interim
and intervention and directions and with office report) |
With
SLP ( C ) No. 22111/2003
(With prayer for interim relief and office report)
|
| Date :04/10/2004
These Petitions were called on for hearing today. |
| CORAM : |
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE
Y.K.SABHARWAL
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE D.M.DHARMADHIKARI |
|
| ORDER |
| Pursuant to our
order dated 26th July, 2004 some of the states and Union Territories
as also the Central Government have filed affidavits. Those States/Uts
who have not filed the affidavits are directed to file the same’
in compliance of the order dated 26th July, 2004, within four weeks.
The Municipal Solid Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules have
been enforced for the last about four years, but lot deserves to
be done in implementation of those Rules. In the affidavit filed
by the Ministry of Urban Development, it is inter alia, stated in
para 8.3 (page 4119 of Vol-12) that MOEF has written to all State
Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) requesting them to formulate time
bound action plan for management of Municipal solid waste in respect
of metro cities and State capitals and has also addressed that issue
in the 50th conference of Member Secretaries and Chairman of all
SPCBs /PCC (Pollution Control Committees) held in March’ 2004
at Delhi. It is necessary and appropriate to make a beginning that
an action plan for management of MSW in respect of metro cities
and States capitals is prepared by Ministry of Urban Development
in consultation with all concerned, including, Ministry of Environment
and Forest and the Central Pollution Control Board so that the implementation,
based on the said plan, can commence without any further delay in
the State capitals and metro cities to be followed by other cities.
We direct the Central Government to examine the matter at the earliest,
since considerable time has already elapsed since the matter was
addressed in the Conference of March, 2004. The proposed action
plan shall be filed in Court within six weeks.
The petitioner has handed over a note in Court showing the progress
that has been made in some of the States and also setting out some
of the suggestions, including the suggestion for creation of Solid
Waste Management Cell, so as to put a focus on the issue and also
to provide incentives to those who perform well as was tried in
some of the States. The said note states as under:
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| 1. |
As a result of the Hon. Supreme Court’s
orders on 26.7.04, in Maharashtra the number of authorizations
granted for Solid Waste Management (SWM) has increased from
32% to 98%, in Gujarat from 58% to 92% and in MP from NIL to
34%. No affidavits at all have been received from the 24 other
States/Uts for which CPCB reported NIL or less than 3% authorizations
in February 2004. All these States and their SPCBs can study
and learn from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat’s successes. |
| 2. |
All States/Uts and their SPCB/PCCs have totally
ignored the improvement of existing open dumps, due by 31.12.2001,
let along identifying and monitoring the existing sites. Simple
steps can be taken immediately at almost no cost by every single
ULB to prevent monsoon water percolation through the heaps,
which produced highly polluting black runoff (leachate). Waste
heaps can be made convex to eliminate standing water, upslope
diversion drains can prevent water inflow, down-slope diversion
drains can capture leachate for recirculation onto the heaps,
and disused heaps can be given soil cover for vegetative healing. |
| 3. |
Lack of funds is no excuse for inaction. Smaller
towns in every State should go and learn from Suryapet in AP
(pop.103,000) and Namakkal in TN (pop 53,000) which have both
seen dustbin-free “Zero Garbage Towns” complying
with MSW Rules since 2003 with no financial input from States
or Centre, just good management and sense of commitment… |
| 4. |
States seen to use the Rules as an excuse to
milk funds from the Centre, by making that a precondition for
action and inflating waste-processing costs 2-3 –fold.
The Supreme Court Committee recommended 1/3 contribution each
from the city, State and Centre. Before seeking 70-80% Centre’s
contribution, every State should first ensure that each city
first spends its own share to immediately make its wastes non-polluting
by simple sanitizing /stabilizing, which is always the first
step in composting viz. inoculate the waste with cow dung solution
or biocultures and placing it in wind-rows (long heaps) which
are turned at least once or twice over a period of 45 to 60
days. |
| 5. |
Unless each States creates a focused “Solid
Waste Management Cell” and rewards its cities for good
performance, both of which Maharashtra has done, compliance
with MSW Rules seems to be an illusion. |
| 6. |
The admitted position is that the MSW Rules have
not been complied with even after four years. None of the functionaries
have bothered or discharged their duties to ensure compliance.
Even existing dumps have not been improved. Thus deeper thought
and urgent and immediate action is necessary to ensure compliance
in future”. |
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| The State Governments and the
Central Government and concerned SPCBs/PCCs should examine the aforesaid
aspects and respond thereto within six weeks. |
|
| List these matters
after seven weeks. |
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