Solid waste 'serious problem' in Delhi: Supreme Court raps LG

The Supreme Court on Friday said that solid waste in Delhi is a ‘very serious problem’ and asked the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to constitute a committee to look into it.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, while stressing that cooperation of citizens was needed to deal with the problem, said the committee should go ‘in-depth’ into all aspects relating to management of solid waste, including cleaning up of landfill sites at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa, as the situation in Delhi was “very critical”.

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“The fact of the matter is that it is a very serious problem. It will not only affect Delhi but other cities also. Let the LG himself constitute an experts committee,” the bench said, adding it requires assistance from people of Delhi.

“You need cooperation of people of Delhi. The people of Delhi have to realise that it is a huge problem. Let the LG take a call. Let him not take a hurried decision. Let him set up a committee and examine everything thoroughly. Ad-hoc steps may or may not work,” the bench said.

The committee should consist of experts, members of civil societies and resident welfare associations (RWAs), the bench, which also comprised Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta, said.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, appearing for the office of LG, told the bench that she would discuss the matter with the LG and come back to the court within a week.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on August 27, 2018.

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The apex court had earlier said that Delhi was facing an “emergency situation” due to the mountains of garbage.

The issue of waste management had cropped up when the court was dealing with a tragic matter of 2015 in which it had taken cognisance of the death of a seven-year-old boy due to dengue.

The victim had been allegedly denied treatment by five private hospitals here and his distraught parents had subsequently committed suicide.

(With inputs from PTI)