NEW DELHI: Pulling up Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for non-compliance of its order on solid waste management, with 3,000 tonnes of waste being dumped untreated on a daily basis, Supreme Court on Friday said it would be forced to pass a drastic order against it, and asked the Centre to intervene and sort out the problem.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the central government cannot remain silent on the sorry state of affairs prevailing in the national capital, and expressed its anguish over MCD’s statement that the Ghazipur dumpsite would be cleared only by Dec 2028.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for MCD, said approximately 71.7 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste has been successfully bio-mined at the Bhalswa dumpsite and approximately 27.7 lakh MT at the Ghazipur landfill.
SC shocked it will take another 4 years to clear Ghazipur dumpsite
To clear the remaining balance of approximately 45 lakh MT of legacy waste, a new tender was awarded on 06.12.2024 for the Bhalswa dumpsite. Similarly, to clear the remaining balance of approximately 45 lakh MT of legacy waste at the Ghazipur dumpsite, tender had been called, the technical bid opened on 08.01.2025 and it is under evaluation. It is expected that the remaining waste will be completely cleared by Dec 2028, in accordance with the plans and timelines submitted before the SC,” MCD said in its affidavit.
Expressing shock that it will take another four years, the bench said, “What is the stand of the Union of India? How can they remain silent? If they are not performing, then action should be taken.” The court said if the situation remains the same, then it would order banning all construction work in the city. Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, assured SC that she would take instruction from the urban development ministry and brief the court.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, told SC that one of the reasons for the problem is lack of coordination between the Centre and the Delhi govt. “We will make them coordinate. It is a very very serious issue. It is happening in the capital city and we are concerned about it,” the bench said. Only 8,000 tonnes of solid waste is processed out of the 11,000 tonnes generated every day in Delhi, which had failed to implement the 2016 law on processing of solid waste.