NGT flags solid, sewage waste management issues in Gujarat, Odisha
National Green Tribunal while monitoring the status of waste management across the country's states and Union Territories flagged several issues last month after analysing the progress reports submitted by Gujarat and Odisha. A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that the two states filed separate progress reports detailing the steps taken to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court's directions regarding solid waste management rules and establishing adequate sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Last year, the tribunal imposed environmental compensation (EC) on various states for the gaps in waste management, including Rs 2,100 crore on Gujarat, which had to be kept in a ring-fenced account. It stopped short of imposing the fine on Odisha after the state government gave an undertaking that it would set aside Rs 1,138 crore to address the gaps.
Regarding solid waste management in Gujarat, the bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Kumar Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel said, «The gap reported in waste processing is almost at the same level as was reported earlier, which is on account of not having waste processing facilities commensurate with waste generation.»
«Presently, waste generation is estimated to be 10,317 tonnes per day (TPD) and processing is to an extent of 8,872 TPD with a resultant gap of 1445 TPD,» the bench added.
It noted that 1.24 lakh metric tons (LMT) of legacy waste was yet to be remediated across seven urban local bodies (ULBs).
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