Uttarakhand HC Issues Landmark Guidelines On Solid Waste Management [Read Judgment]

Every citizen, at the same time, has a fundamental duty to maintain cleanliness in and around his abode, the court observed.The Uttarakhand High Court has issued landmark guidelines on solid waste management while disposing a public interest litigation filed by Sai Nath Seva Mandal.The Society, through the PIL, had brought to the notice of the court that the municipal waste generated in Kashipur city is being dumped directly in Dhela river near the Sai temple situated on Moradabad Road in Kashipur town.While issuing the guidelines, a bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia observed: “The zenith of civilization can only be gauged how clean the cities and towns are. Every citizen has a fundamental as well as human right to clean and hygienic environment. Every citizen, at the same time, has a fundamental duty to maintain the cleanliness in and around his abode. There are more persons indulging in littering, dumping of garbage at public places vis-à-vis the persons employed to clean up the mess. We must keep and maintain the dignity of the workers employed to clean the cities and towns”.The court also observed that the authorities have a mandatory duty to collect and dispose of the garbage/waste generated from various sources in the city. Non-availability of funds, inadequacy or inefficiency of staff, insufficiency of machinery etc. cannot be pleaded as grounds for non-performance of the statutory obligations, it said.Following guidelines were issued: All the streets, public premises such as parks etc. shall be surface cleaned on daily basis, including on Sundays and Public holidays by Municipal Corporations, Nagar Panchayats, Municipal Councils and Panchayati Raj Institutions All the Officers of the municipal corporations, municipal bodies, Nagar Panchayats, Panchayati Raj Institutions shall ensure that no garbage, rubbish, filth etc. is deposited by any person in any street or public place. The Magistrates appointed under Sections 20/21 of the Code of Civil Procedure and under Section 487 of the U.P. Municipal Corporation Act, 1959 are authorized to impose and levy fines for violation of statutory provisions of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016; UP Municipal Corporation Act, 1959; UP Municipalities Act, 1916 as well as UP Panchayati Raj Institutions, in addition to the officers already appointed to do so, as mentioned hereinabove. All the workers deployed for cleaning the streets and removal of garbage including bio-degradable medical waste should be provided with necessary equipments including uniforms, shoes, gloves and other implements etc. for winters and summers separately and also proper uniforms which have reflectors and be provided with ID cards also All the streets and roads falling within the municipal areas, municipal corporation/Panchayati Raj institutions should be surface cleaned in the morning. The state government is directed to take decision on all the proposals sent to it by the municipal bodies for managing the solid waste in their territorial jurisdiction within four weeks from today. The municipal corporation/municipal bodies, throughout the state, may consider to provide two dustbins (for collection of dry and wet bio-medical waste), free-of-cost, to all the households in the Municipal area, depending on their financial health The Nagar Nigam, Dehradun, and Nagar Nigam, Haridwar, are directed to complete the tender process relating to solid waste management, if not already completed, within eight weeks from today and thereafter to implement the solid waste management scheme. The Principal Secretary, Urban Development of the State of Uttarakhand, is directed to prepare the State policy and strategy on solid waste management for the entire state in consultation with the stakeholders within a period of three months from today. The Town Planning Department of the State of Uttarakhand through Secretary, Town Planning, is directed to ensure that the master plan of every city in the State is having the provision for setting up of solid waste processing and disposal facilities. The Principal Secretary, Urban Development of the State of Uttarakhand, is directed to ensure identification and allocation of suitable land to the local bodies within three months from today for setting up of processing and disposal facilities for solid wastes and incorporate them in the master plan. The Town Planning Department, through its Secretary and all the local bodies throughout the State of Uttarakhand, are directed to ensure that a separate place for segregation, storage, decentralised processing of solid waste is demarcated in the development plan for group housing or commercial, institutional or any other non-residential building exceeding 200 dwellings. All the District Magistrates in the State of Uttarakhand, in coordination with the Secretary, Urban Development, are directed to ensure identification and allocation of suitable land, as per Clause 11(f) of the Rules of...

Uttarakhand HC Issues Landmark Guidelines On Solid Waste Management [Read Judgment]

Ashok KM

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