The National Green Tribunal. (Express Photo)
“Are people of Delhi supposed to die under a garbage dump,” asked the National Green Tribunal on Monday while pulling up the Delhi government and the EDMC over the Ghazipur landfill collapse that killed two people last week. Issuing notices to the authorities, the NGT directed them to show cause why punitive action shouldn’t be taken against the Delhi government and criminal proceedings not be initiated against the erring EDMC official over the incident.
The NGT also issued notice to the NHAI to show cause why it has not started lifting segregated waste despite specific directions from the tribunal. The DDA was also issued notice by the bench to explain why an appropriate site has not been given to the MCDs for dumping waste. “Are people of Delhi expected to meet this fate? Are they supposed to die under a garbage dump? We had asked you to reduce the height of the dump and take appropriate measures for reduction of the waste. Why didn’t you do it?” asked the bench, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar.
Balendu Shekhar, representing the EDMC, said the civic body had already moved a plea seeking allotment of land to develop sanitary landfills to handle municipal solid waste. He added that there was an immediate requirement of an alternate site. The NGT also directed the MCDs to submit within a week an action plan to show what steps were being taken to restore the site at Ghazipur and other landfills. The matter has been posted for hearing on September 12.
