Delhi waste management: Committee should have specific time line, says SC

The Supreme Court Wednesday observed that an expert committee, set up to deal with issues relating to solid waste management in Delhi, should have "specific time target" on how the works would be carried out.

The apex court, which perused the status report filed by the committee, asked whether the Lieutenant Governor (LG) was being briefed about the meetings of the panel.

"We have gone through the status report. There is no specific time target. It just says that we have to do this, we have to do that. But by when? It is not there," a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand.

The apex court had on August 17 asked the LG to set up this committee to go in-depth into all aspects of solid waste management in Delhi, including cleaning up landfill sites at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla and frame a workable and implementable policy.

The ASG told the bench, that also comprised Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta, that the committee would get back to the court on the issue of a time-frame.

"We (committee) have taken certain cogent steps. Tomorrow, the next meeting is scheduled and experts from CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) have been called. We are examining each and every aspect," Anand told the court and sought two weeks time to come out with a time-line.

The bench also said that chairman of the committee should attend all the meetings and devote time in the process as this was a "full-time work"."The chairman has to control the proceedings (of the meeting). If he (chairman) comes at 11 am and goes back at 12 noon, then it is not done," it observed.

During the hearing, the ASG told the bench that the LG was being constantly briefed about the meetings of the panel.

"You place minutes of the meetings on record. You tell us who is briefing the LG," the bench told the ASG and posted the matter for hearing on September 26.

The court had earlier observed that issue of solid waste management in Delhi was "serious" and the committee would have to initially meet on a day-to-day basis to take stock of the situation.

The issue of waste management had cropped up when the court was dealing with a tragic incident 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.