New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said segregation of waste at source was of “vital importance” for the environment. A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “In one of the orders, we have observed that all smart city projects are in progress. How the cities can become smart without compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules?”The apex court directed the NCR states for compliance in line with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The National Capital Region (NCR) comprises Delhi and certain districts of neighbouring Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.Noting that the non-compliance in adhering to the 2016 rules had affected all cities in the country, the bench said if there was no proper segregation of waste, even waste-to-energy projects would create more pollution.Amicus curiae in the matter on pollution in Delhi-NCR Aparajita Singh flagged the low percentage of segregation of waste and by sending unsegregated waste to waste-to-energy plants caused more pollution. The top court said, “As rightly submitted by the amicus curiae, the segregation of waste at source is of vital importance for the environment. If there is no proper segregation, even waste-to-energy projects will create more pollution”.The NCR states were ordered to file affidavits dealing with the compliances of all the urban local bodies with the provisions of the 2016 rules so far. They have been asked to file the affidavits by the end of March following which the matter would be taken up for further hearing.The bench has also asked the states to set out a comprehensive plan for waste management along with timelines and implementing agencies. The authorities were asked to set out the “best practices” they proposed to follow for solid waste management.The bench directed the Central Pollution Control Board to submit a report on the impact of waste-to-energy projects on the environment.While dealing with the issue of solid waste management in the national capital during the hearing on January 27, the top court said if there was no real solution to tackle the issue of untreated solid waste generated per day, it would consider passing drastic orders to stop certain construction activities.“We are facing a huge problem which arises due to the fact that approximately 3,000 tonnes of solid waste generated every day in Delhi remains untreated. With the passage of time, this figure is bound to increase,” it had said.
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