NGT refuses permission for registration of new vehicles for garbage disposal

The National Green Tribunal has dismissed a plea seeking review of its order refusing permission for registration of new vehicles of municipal corporations for garbage disposal.

The petitioners had filed the plea under Section 14 of the NGT Act. The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the application was not maintainable as only a victim of pollution can move a plea under Section 14.

"We have perused the review application which relies upon order dated July 27, 2018 in a group of matters, allowing some of the applications seeking such a direction in the light of an earlier order on the subject.

"However, a perusal of the order dated July 27, 2018 shows that it was made clear that the said order was not to be treated as a precedent in view of finality of orders of the tribunal to the contrary," the bench, also comprising Justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan, said.

The tribunal noted that it had earlier directed that no commercial diesel vehicle could be registered in Delhi in view of air pollution.

It was made clear that no such application will be entertained in the future, in conflict with the earlier orders, it said.

The green panel said that it cannot pass conflicting orders. Also, the application was not maintainable under Section 14 of the NGT Act.

"Thus, no ground for review has been made out. The review application is dismissed. It is, however, made clear that this order will not debar the review applicant from taking appropriate remedy at an appropriate forum in accordance with the law," the NGT said.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation had filed the review plea seeking tribunal's permission to register 72 new diesel vehicles for collection and transportation of municipal solid waste in Najafgarh.

Due to the existing ban on registration of diesel vehicles, the corporation is facing difficulty in collection, segregation and management of garbage as per solid waste management rules, 2016, the plea said.

The New Delhi Municipal Council and the North Delhi municipal corporation had also filed similar pleas, which were also rejected.