NGT’s order remains unimplemented during past one yr
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 19: National Green Tribunal’s explicit order on performance audit of the Municipal Corporations and other Urban Local Bodies on solid waste management and sanitation has remained unimplemented in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir during the past over one year because of dilly-dallying approach of the concerned authorities of the Housing and Urban Development Department.
Moreover, the officers assigned this task albeit over a prolonged delay have failed to meet the deadline fixed by the Government as a result of which it is yet to be ascertained as to whether the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 are being implemented in totality or not.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson and Justice K Ramakrishnan, Judicial Member and Dr Nagin Nanda, Expert Member in Original Application No.606/2018 had on January 16, 2019 observed, “solid waste management is of paramount importance for protection of environment as the statistics paint a dismal picture of the environment in the country”.
“There is need to conduct performance audit of statutory regulators so that they are manned by competent as well as credible persons and there is a regime of their accountability as observed by the Supreme Court”, the bench had further observed, adding “failure to do so would be disastrous for the health of the citizens and defeat the very purpose of regulatory regime manned to protect the environment”.
With these observations, the National Green Tribunal had issued directions for performance audit of the Urban Local Bodies on solid waste management to draw an exact picture about implementation of Rules.
The performance audit was to be conducted in respect of door-to-door collection of segregated solid waste from all households; transportation in covered vehicles to processing or disposal facilities; segregation of waste by households into biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous; installation of twin-bin/segregated litter bins in commercial and public areas and installation of waste storage bins in strategic locations.
The other key parameters which were to be looked into during the course of performance audit are compartmentalization of vehicles for the collection of different fractions of waste; use of GPS in collection and transportation vehicles; setting up of common or regional sanitary landfills by all local bodies for the disposal of waste and installation of suitable mechanisms such as screen mesh, grill, nets etc in water bodies such as nallahs and drains to arrest solid waste from entering into water bodies.
For one year, the Housing and Urban Development Department of J&K Government preferred to ignore the explicit order of the National Green Tribunal and after a prolonged delay Government vide Order No.71-JK-HUD dated February 20, 2020 set into motion an exercise for performance audit of Municipal Corporations and other Urban Local Bodies on solid waste management and sanitation.
Vide this order, Director Urban Local Bodies Jammu was directed to conduct the performance audit on solid waste management and sanitation of Municipal Committees and Municipal Councils of Kashmir Division. Similarly, Director Urban Local Bodies Kashmir was asked to conduct the performance audit in respect of Urban Local Bodies in Jammu Division.
Special Secretary in the Housing and Urban Development Department was asked to conduct the performance audit of Jammu Municipal Corporation and Srinagar Municipal Corporation. “These officers shall submit the performance audit report within 15 days positively”, reads the Government order dated February 20, 2020.
Though 15 days period lapsed on March 6, 2020 yet except Special Secretary in the Housing and Urban Development Department other officers have not started the performance audit of the Urban Local Bodies on solid waste management and sanitation, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“Due to slack approach on the part of the concerned authorities, the important directives of the National Green Tribunal issued in the month of January last year have remained unimplemented till date”, sources said.
They further said, “it is only after the completion of performance audit on solid waste management and sanitation that necessary directions can be issued to the Urban Local Bodies for taking corrective measures”, adding “it is a matter of concern that timeline has not been strictly adhered to by the officers concerned”.
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