The High Court of Karnataka on Monday cautioned that it may have to pass orders stopping the Mangaluru City Corporation from granting permission for construction of new buildings in the city if the corporation failed to come out with a time-line for implementing Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and other measures for disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) as per law.
The court also directed the corporation to submit the yearly data of MSW collected since January 2017 till September 30, 2020 and the number of permissions granted for construction of new buildings this year till September 30.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi passed the order while hearing a PIL petition, filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA).
As the State government itself pointed that the corporation has facility to process only 225 tonnes of MSW as against a daily collection of 425 tonnes, the Bench asked the government what action it has initiated against the corporation for illegally dumping the remaining 200 tonnes of waste everyday without following the norms.
The Bench was of the view that if the corporation was not in a position to handle the waste generated from the existing buildings, granting permission for new building should be stopped till the corporation puts in place the required infrastructure to dispose of waste as per law.
The Bench also asked the corporation whether it is prepared to appoint an expert agency such as the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to examine the facilities to dispose of MSW generated in the city, especially when there are allegations that leachate from landfill is allowed to enter not only the ground water but also the Phalguni river due to unscientific management of dumped waste.
Meanwhile, the Bench directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to initiate action against the officials of the corporation as per the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 for their failure to implement environment laws relating to MSW. The petitioner had complained about the failure of the corporation in disposing of municipal solid waste scientifically as per law apart from pointing out that the corporation had not taken corrective measures to address human and environmental issues that cropped up due to the slippage of dumped garbage at Pachhanadi landfill into adjacent agricultural and residential areas during August 2019.
The Bench asked the government to explain why it has released only ₹ 8 crore for relief and rehabilitation of Pachhanadi residents against the ₹ 22 crore sought by the corporation.