NGT slams Karnataka for violation of waste management rules, non-disclosure of data

Noting that even within the 192 ULBs, only 3.49 lakh of the 75.25 lakh tonnes legacy waste has been treated, it termed the December 2027 deadline 'a long timeline' which is 'clear violation of MSW (Management of Solid Waste) Rules'.

Bengaluru: Days after Karnataka submitted that it had set December 2027 as the state's deadline for treating the legacy waste in urban local bodies, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) slammed the state government over its long timeline in violation of the rules and for not disclosing crucial data on waste management.

The principal bench of NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and an expert member, A Senthil Vel, looked into submissions made by Karnataka on the status of the implementation of the Rules for the Management of Solid Waste (MSW).

The mishandling of waste has led to pollution of water and air.

"We find a very grim situation about legacy waste management. Out of 315 urban local bodies, details of only 192 ULBs have been disclosed... but for the remaining 123 ULBs, there is no disclosure of status," it said.

Noting that even within the 192 ULBs, only 3.49 lakh of the 75.25 lakh tonnes legacy waste has been treated, it termed the December 2027 deadline "a long timeline" which is "clear violation of MSW Rules". There is a need to expedite the process of bioremediation and bio-mining by opting for options like exploring departmental efforts, it added.

The tribunal ordered the government to submit detailed status of the remediation of 78.94 lakh tonne legacy waste in the nine landfill sites of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Besides a clear timeline for each of the sites, the bench sought to know the status of daily generated unprocessed waste which is adding to the legacy waste per day.

Gaps in information

The bench noted that the government initially filed a comprehensive report on the waste management in 316 urban local bodies (ULBs) but later submitted a presentation where crucial data on the gaps in the processing waste, including dry waste and hazardous waste, was "not disclosed".

As per the government data, the 316 ULBs, including the BBMP, generated 12,140 tonne waste per day, including wet waste (6667 tonne), dry waste (4249 tonne) and inert waste (1214 tonne). Of the 12,140 tonne (per day) waste generated, 4423 tonne was not being processed.

"We also find that, the entire inert waste of 1214 tonne/day is being disposed of through landfilling which also includes 75 tonne/day of hazardous waste," the bench said.

Further, the gap analysis of solid waste processing showed 2700 tonne per day in BBMP and 1798 tonne per day in the 315 ULBs were not being treated.

"We find that the characteristics of inert waste and of hazardous waste and also maintaining integrity of the designed landfill as per MSW Rules, 2016, has not been disclosed," it said.

Similarly, the bench took exception to the government's failure to disclose the quality of the compost made from wet waste. "The next report should include performance data of processing plants and bio CNG plants," it said.

Sewage dumping

The NGT noted that Karnataka was violating the Water Act, 1974 and Supreme Court orders in failing to treat sewage of 1040.81 mld in 315 ULBs and 268 mld in BBMP limits. It said long timelines (up to year 2028) to treat sewage in the 315 ULBs violates the timeline fixed by the Supreme Court.

The bench also noted that the government has not disclosed its compliance to the NGT order of October 2022 to deposit Rs 2900 crore in a separate ring-fenced account within two months.

"But it has not been disclosed in the report if a single dedicated ring fenced account has been opened. Further, details of utilisation of funds have not been disclosed," it said.

Directing the state government to provide all the details in the next report, the tribunal posted the matter to February 20, 2025.