Solan- The State Government of Himachal Pradesh is a disaster if its management and disposal of solid waste are considered. The State Pollution Control Board, local civil bodies, health department and every authority responsible for environmental protection and sanitation are in deep slumber, from which even the Hon’ble High Court is not able to wake them up. Not only these state agencies show disregard to environmental laws, court orders, but also show extreme insensitivity towards the lives of the people who are affected by unscientific dumping of solid waste and pollution of rivers.

The biggest example came to light when Kenduwal village in Baddi of Solan district approached the court with their plea to save them from the Baddi Municipal Council and Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority. They literally buried a family in the garbage by creating an illegal dumping site near their habitat. The BBNDA was supposed to construct a waste treatment plant in 2012, but instead they just created a dumping site that became a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes, rats, etc. and it caused an alarming increase in the incident of illnesses even to people who live in the neighbouring villages like Sheetalpur, Malpur, Bhudd, and MalkhuMajra. Nearly 1200 residents had filed a complaint to the SDM, Baddi and submitted that the Baddi Municipal Council had been dumping waste near their village without developing the site.

The worst affected family, living just 30 meters from the landfill, had approached various authorities with their grievance but was not attended at all. One reason could be attributed to the fact that this family belonged to the minority community (Gujjars). After the advocate for the petitioner’s family, Deven Khanna, fought a long legal battle against the state, the family has now received some hope by getting interim relief.

On May 21, 2019, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, while hearing the petition of the family, directed the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) to consider relocating it.

In their application submitted to the court, the family had sought adequate compensation and rehabilitation/relocation. The petitioner had told the court that even after various orders from this Hon’ble Court, the responsible authorities were continuously disregarding the Solid Waste Management Rules and also the Orders of this Hon’ble Court.  As a result of it, the house of the affected family was turned into a garbage dump.

Here’s a ‘Make (plastic rivers) in India’ story from #Baddi #himachal on #IndependenceDay In solidarity with all living entities who continue struggling for freedom from oppression & subjugation@Jairam_Ramesh @pbhushan1@HimachalW@OmairTAhmad @_YogendraYadav@kavita_krishnan pic.twitter.com/scEStX6M1w

— Manshi Asher (@ManshiAsher) August 15, 2018

The petition also said that the authorities never took any consent from the adjoining houses before creating the dumping site, nor proposed relocation to the inhabitants. The petitioner with his family and cattle has been forced to live in life-threatening circumstances, the application said.

It’s pertinent to mention that despite the court orders to stop dumping waste on the said site, the authority allegedly took to threatening the petitioner’s family instead of acting on the orders.

“Petitioner is being threatened in various ways, while the mandatory compliances under the statute are continuously being flouted by the Respondents,”

the family had prayed in the application to the court.

Eventually, in its order passed on May 21, 2019, the court directed the authorities to consider relocation of the petitioner’s family.

In previous hearings, the court found out that the MC and BBNDA had obtained clearance for construction an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant at this site in 2015, but never actually constructed it. Instead, it kept dumping entire waste in open.

The dumping ground violated several rules related to the creation of landfills. According to the Schedule (I) (a), Clause (VII) (VIII) of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016:

1. The Landfill site shall be 100 mt away from river, 200 mt from a pond, 200 mt from highway, habitations, public parks and water-supply wells and 20 km away from airports or Airbase.
2. The Landfill site shall not be permitted within these flood plains as recorded for the last 100 years, Zone of coastal regulation, wetland, critical habitat areas, sensitive eco-fragile areas.
3. This landfill was created in violation of all these rules as it is located on a floodplain of Sirsa river and just 30 meters away from human habitat.

Further, this dumping site also violated the directions passed by the National Green Tribunal in its recent judgment (O.A No. 673/2018).

The directions of the Tribunal clearly mentions maintaining the environmental flow of the river, checking constructions on floodplains, setting up of regulating or stopping the industrial activity of polluting nature, checking mining activities and disposal of bio-medical and other wastes, etc.

After the court’s interventions, on February 25, 2019, the Chief Executive Officer, BBNDA, Baddi, District Solan, H.P. had filed an affidavit-cum-status report. In this affidavit, the Chief Executive Officer had said that they would be able to establish the complete processing facility at the designated site Kenduwal within 12 months i.e. before 8th February 2020.  The affidavit further said that the work of 100% collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste from within the entire project area comprising 41 Gram Panchayats as well as Municipal Council, Baddi, Municipal Council, Nalagarh and Municipal Council, Parwanoo will be started by May 8, 2019.

In this order, the court had said,

“Though, as per the affidavit, BBNDA has placed 109 dumpers, 12 garbage collection tanks, 3 dumper placers, 5 tractor trolleys, and 60 labourers, yet the fact of the matter is that the entire untreated Municipal Solid Waste is not being picked up and substantial part thereof is being dumped in open.”

“We, therefore, direct the BBNDA to submit a time-bound plan for lifting the entire Municipal Solid Waste lying in open area and for that purpose if need be, let the proposal be sent to the State Government for its intervention to provide additional machinery and manpower under the Corporate Social Responsibility,”

the court order further stated.

Later, in another status report-cum-affidavit filed in the court on April 8, 2019, the Chief Executive Officer had told the court that the following steps would be taken in compliance with the orders passed by the court:

1. Additional 33 dumpers (garbage containers) in the 33 left out Gram Panchayat will be placed by the concessionaire by 15/04/2019.
2. The detailed project report will be submitted by the concessionaire upto 20/04/2019.
3. The operational plan for collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste will be submitted by the concessionaire up to 25/04/2019.
4. The electronic weighbridge will be installed by the concessionaire at the designated site Kenduwal upto 30/04/2019.
5. The CCTV cameras will be installed by the concessionaire at the designated site Kenduwal upto 30/04/2019.
6. The work of 100% collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste from within the entire project area by deploying about 180 number of employees will be started by the concessionaire by 08/05/2019.

Currently, some of the solid waste was still being dumped on the same site while remaining was being sent to a treatment plant in Chandigarh. The work of construction of a waste treatment plant is also underway.

Further, in his elaborated petition filed in 2018, the advocate for the petitioners had urged the court to consider the lack of solid waste management and treatment facility in the entire state, which leads to environmental degradation on a large scale. In their petition, petitioners through Advocate Deven Khanna had requested the court to pass following directions:

General direction to the local bodies to strictly impose a heavy fine on the violators of the law.

1. Ordering absolute Strictness with regards to throwing garbage in water bodies (rivers, nallahs). He suggested that the fine collected should be used for the restoration of the damaged places.
2. Officers in charge should be made personally liable if flagrant violations are found in their jurisdictions
3. Secretary, Town Planning should be directed to ensure that the Master Plan of every city in the State has the provision for setting up of solid waste processing and disposal facilities
4. Secretary, Urban Development of the State of Himachal and Secretary Panchayats/Rural Development should be directed to prepare the State policy and strategy on solid waste management for the entire State in consultation with the stakeholders.
5. District Magistrates in the State in coordination with the Secretary, Urban Development, should be directed to ensure identification and allocation of suitable land
6. Pollution Control Board should be directed to ensure due compliance of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 as per Rule 16 of the Rules.
7. Direction should be passed to the local authorities i.e. Municipalities, Municipal Corporations, and Panchayat Raj Institutions not to dump the garbage in the river streams/rivulets and forest areas forthwith.
8. All the Municipalities, Municipal Corporations, Panchayats and other statutory authorities, throughout the State, should be directed to regularly publish the names of concerned Superintendents of Sanitation, Medical Officers and Sanitary Officers and such equivalent officers who are responsible for cleaning the State who can be approached for any complaint/grievance by the citizens of the State.