A High Court division Bench of Justices N Kumar and B V Nagarathna will visit BBMP ’s waste segregation site and landfills to find a permanent solution to the city’s solid waste management problem.
The bench observed, “A lot of public money is spent on solid waste management. We have to find a permanent solution and track how the money is being spent.”
The Bench adjourned further hearing in the case to October 24 and directed the Central government’s counsel to differentiate between the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000, and the proposed rules.
The Bench will meet the expert committee on solid waste management on October 25 to examine the objections to the proposed rules and to fix a date to visit the BBMP’s waste management facilities. The Bench also ordered status quo, restraining the BBMP from notifying the draft amendment to Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2013, till further orders in the case after Leo Saldhana of the Environment Support Group raised objections to the draft rules published by the BBMP on its website.
The Bench asked the BBMP to explore the possibility of generating gas from wet waste and enrolling ragpickers to collect dry waste.
The BBMP submitted that it has already enrolled 7,000 ragpickers to collect solid waste and issued identity cards to 5,200. A PIL was filed requesting the court to direct the State government to revamp the solid waste management system in the state when the BBMP failed to clear the garbage in the city more than a year ago.
‘Civic Workers Exploited’
The advocate appearing on behalf of the pourakarmikas submitted that there are 18,709 pourakarmikas working on contract basis in the city. Though they are supposed to work only for 26 days a month, the BBMP and the contractors make them work on all days without extra wages, he said.