New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday criticised the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for over 3,000 tonnes of solid waste remaining untreated every day and, citing MCD’s affidavit, said it is shocked to learn that it will take time till December 2027 to clear it.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. “This heap of garbage will remain till 2027. What is this? The MCD says by December 2027 it will be cleared. The Union of India cannot shut its eyes. This is blatant in the national capital," said the bench.
Discontent with the authorities concerned, the bench said it should not be compelled to pass some harsh directions, and stressed, “Such issues will have to be dealt with drastically”.
The MCD, in an affidavit, said the untreated solid waste in the national capital would be cleared by December 2027. The bench expressed its shock at this claim of the MCD. “We are shocked to read this affidavit, which says that it will take time till December 2027 to clear it”, said the bench. The apex court, which appeared unrelenting in its criticism of the authorities concerned, said, “What is happening in the national capital?”
The apex court made it clear that if the situation were to continue then it may pass some drastic orders, pausing the construction activities to mitigate the issue.
During the hearing, the MCD’s counsel contended that the waste was taken to landfill sites at Bhalswa and Ghazipur. The bench criticised the brazen manner in which the affidavit was filed by the civic body. “You must file an affidavit stating where you are dumping the 3,000 tonnes of untreated solid waste every day," said the bench, adding that after a year the solid waste might become 5,000 tonnes per day.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the top court as an amicus curiae, contended that the Delhi government and the Centre were not coordinating to deal with the issue. The bench replied that it would make them sit together and asked the Centre’s counsel to examine the issue.
After hearing submissions, the apex court said the MCD's affidavit would be considered on January 27 when it would deal with the issue of solid waste management.
In November, last year, the apex court had flagged the "complete failure" of agencies in implementing the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 in the national capital. The apex court had expressed its concern that 3,000 tonnes of solid waste remained untreated daily.
