Margao: The Supreme Court of India on Friday stayed construction activities in several States and Union Territories (UT), which includes Goa, until they frame a policy under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. In a strongly worded Order issued by a bench of Justice MB Lokur and Justice S Abdul Nazeer, they slammed the States and UTs for their “pathetic attitude” in delaying the formulation of the policy even after two years.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 3,00,000 on Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh, for not framing the policy yet, and also for not being present in court. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttarakhand were fined Rs 3,00,000 each for not framing a policy or not complying with the court order.
The Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation was taken up by the Supreme Court in 2015 when they had observed that vector borne diseases were widespread in different parts of the country apparently due to an absence of solid waste management. Adv Colin Gonsalves, Adv Choudhary Kabir and Adv Olivia Bang were the petitioners in the case.
On Friday, the Court came down heavily on States because they observed that the States do not appear serious about implementing the Policy after missing out on June and July deadline given to them
Interestingly, on 2/11/17 a day after the first hearing of the case, the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) initiated steps to prepare a solid waste management policy for the state and to draw up a plan for managing and handling garbage scientifically with a long-term perspective. However, a policy is yet to be finalised.
Herald contacted a GSPCB official who said that he is unaware of the status of the policy. Rajesh Naik, Chief Town Planner, stated that he is unaware of the judgement and will respond after looking into the matter.
