Supreme Court Directs NCR States And MCD To Appoint Nodal Officers For 100% Waste Collection and Segregation

The Supreme Court has directed Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi governments along with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to appoint high-ranking nodal officers to oversee the compliance of achieving 100 percent segregation of waste and 100 percent collection of solid waste in NCR.The Court observed that the amicus curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh had rightly emphasized the need to achieve 100 percent segregation of waste within fixed timelines and 100 percent collection of solid waste by 31 December 2025.“As achieving the target is of immense importance, we direct the states of Haryana Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as well as MCD to designate high ranking nodal officers to supervise the compliance with activity of achieving 100% segregation of waste. The same nodal officers can also supervise the activity of achieving 100% collection of solid waste”, the Court directed.A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order in the MC Mehta case dealing with pollution management in Delhi NCR.The Court noted that the issue of 100 percent segregation of waste in Delhi had been addressed earlier while examining MCD's compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The Court further noted that while the MCD has laid down a timeline for achieving 100 percent collection of solid waste, the other NCR states have not. The Court therefore directed these three states to fix outer limits for achieving the target.The nodal officers overseeing both segregation and collection of waste must file regular compliance reports, beginning September 1, 2025. The reports have to be submitted every quarter to the Supreme Court. The Court directed the Registrar (Judicial) to place these reports before the appropriate bench.Observing that the generation of municipal solid waste is likely to increase due to development in the NCR region, the Court directed all NCR states to make realistic assessments of expected waste generation over the next 25 years. The states must file affidavits on the steps taken in this regard on or before 1 September 2025.“Considering large scale constructions/development in NCR region, the generation of municipal solid waste is bound to increase if not multiply. Therefore all NCR States must make realistic assessments of expected generation of municipal solid waste in 25 years to come so that all the authorities are in a state of preparedness to deal with the issue of ever-increasing quantum of solid waste generated in the cities”, the Court stated.The Court stressed the need to impose penalties in case of non-compliance for effective implementation of the 2016 Rules. It also directed the NCR states and MCD to conduct massive awareness campaigns about the provisions of the 2016 Rules and the penalties prescribed under them. It added that the campaigns should include publicity about the grievance redressal mechanisms available to citizens for lodging complaints regarding breaches of the Rules.The Court directed that NCR states and the MCD must report compliance with these directions and also submit data about the penalties imposed and recovered so far.The Court ordered that all such affidavits must be filed by the designated nodal officers and that copies should be provided to the amicus curiae and the counsel for respective parties. These affidavits must contain data from all local authorities under the jurisdiction of the concerned states within the NCR.The amicus curiae submitted that recycling of construction and dust waste should be incentivised by reducing the GST rate on recycled goods to the minimum or ideally to zero. The Court directed the Union of India to place this suggestion before the appropriate authority.“We recommend that this activity needs to be incentivised which will help in the cause of the environment”, the Court added.These fresh directions supplement the earlier order issued against MCD on 8 April 2025. In that order, the Court had asked MCD to conduct massive awareness campaign on the duties of waste generators under Rule 4 of the Rules, 2016. Rule 4 mandates segregation of waste into biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and domestic hazardous waste; proper disposal of construction and horticultural waste; prohibition of illegal dumping or burning; and payment of user charges. The Court had also directed that the MCD 311 app, which allows citizens to upload photographs to report breaches of the Rules, should be widely publicized to encourage citizens to lodge complaints against violators.During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the Greater Noida Development Authority informed the Court that in its compliance affidavit dated 4 April 2025, the authority had stated it would ensure that legacy waste is reduced to zero by the end of August 2025. The Court recorded this submission and stated, “We hope and trust that this target will be achieved by the authority.”Case no. – WP (C) 13029/1985Case Title – MC Mehta v. Union of India Click ...

Supreme Court Directs NCR States And MCD To Appoint Nodal Officers For 100% Waste Collection and Segregation

Amisha Shrivastava

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