Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has warned the government authorities of a penalty of Rs 50,000 in case they fail to file their status report regarding the implementation of Solid Waste Management Bylaws in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The warning of imposition of the costs was issued in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Environmental Policy Group (EPG). The petitioner prayed for implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules to better the health and hygienic conditions in the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Rajesh Sekhri observed that despite opportunities granted by the court, the status report has not been filed till date.
“Last and final opportunity of four weeks is granted to the respondents for filing the status report, failing which a cost of rupees 50,000 shall be imposed,” directed the bench.
The court in its previous hearing had directed the Central and Union Territory administrations to take appropriate steps in pursuant to its order of July 24, 2021, within two weeks.
The court had also directed the counsel of the EPG, Shafqat Nazir, to file an appropriate application with an affidavit stating the specific local bodies that were not adhering to the rules and bylaws.
The court had passed the directions after the counsel stated that rules and bylaws were not being implemented by J&K’s local bodies.
In response to the submission that Model Bylaws were not sufficient and that certain crucial aspects were left out, the court had said, “In such a situation, we require the counsel for the petitioner to first consider the Act, the Rules and the Model Bylaws and then to suggest the areas in which the same can be improved upon for the purposes of solid waste disposal”.
As per the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 and the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016, the former state if J&K had framed Solid Waste Management Bylaws in exercise of powers under Sections 36 and 25 of the Act in consultation with all the stakeholders. These bylaws were notified by the Government on July 31, 2019.
According to the bylaws, all local bodies are commanded to take appropriate action for the disposal and treatment of solid waste material in J&K.
The PIL filed by EPG, a trust working on environmental issues in J&K, is seeking implementation of Solid Waste Management Bylaws. It alleges that health and hygiene are not up to the mark in J&K due to non-implementation of the provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rules.
