The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday constituted a committee to inspect major waste generators in the national capital including 5-star hotels, malls, hospitals, educational institutions with hostels and housing societies.
Noting that the problem of waste generation is being faced by the entire country and urgent steps were needed to be taken without “demur and default”, the green panel directed the Delhi government to provide a list of all such establishments to be inspected by the committee within one week from Tuesday.
“In the event such establishments are found to be non-compliant, notice will be given to them as to why they be not directed to pay environmental compensation and also remedying and rectifying deficiency and defects,” a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
The green body noted that Delhi generates nearly 14,100 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and said that the mass generators of waste cannot be equated to a simple household generating trash. It expressed concern that public authorities were lacking infrastructure and appropriate technical capacity to handle such huge quantity of waste.
“The mass generators of waste in NCT, Delhi cannot be equated to a simple household generating waste...5-star hotels, schools/colleges having hostels with large number of students, hospitals, hotels/restaurants, cooperative group housing societies, malls are much larger in size and cannot also be equated with the normal household-level generator of waste and sewage.
“Keeping this distinction in mind it is necessary for the tribunal to put these generators of mass municipal solid waste and sewage in a separate category in itself and ensure strict enforcement of the municipal solid wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, proper management and treatment of sewage with complete measures for recycling of treated sewage,” the bench said.
The NGT constititued a committee comprising representatives of the ministries of Environment and Urban Development, Director General of Health Services, Medical Council of India, DDA, municipal corporations, the Delhi government, Central Pollution Control Board, railways and Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
The committee also comprises of four independent experts — former NGT members G K Pandey and D K Agarwal, Dr R Dalwani and Dr Rashid Hasan.
