Legacy waste continues to be a serious problem and it is high time such sites are cleared and solid waste collected is disposed of scientifically, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said.

Legacy waste by itself continues to be a serious problem at most of places with potential to cause air, water and land pollution, affecting public health, it said.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel made the observation while dealing with a plea alleging illegal dumping of solid waste in Adampur village, Tehsil Wadim in Rajasthan’s Dholpur district which was affecting the Ramsagar pond and the soil of the area.

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The tribunal said it is necessary to ascertain the latest status of compliance in Rajasthan and if steps taken with regard to the legacy waste at Bari in Dholpur are considered a success, the State may consider replicating the model at other places.

The status of such compliance needs to be compiled at the State level by a joint Committee of Secretary, Urban Development Department Rajasthan, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State PCB in coordination with the concerned local bodies and the District Magistrates, the tribunal said.

“The joint Committee may hold its first meeting within 15 days to take stock of the ground situation and to prepare a plan for compiling the data and further action consistent with the directions of this Tribunal on the subject, in continuation of steps already taken,” the tribunal said in its August 17 order.

Data to be compiled may cover all cities and towns district wise and include information about waste generation per day, quantity of waste processed, quantity of legacy waste lying on sites, total waste bio-mined, area reclaimed and action plans for accomplishing the tasks in a time-bound manner, the NGT said.

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The green panel said it is well known that the challenge of solid waste management is of universal nature and the NGT has dealt with the issue of non-compliance of statutory rules on the subject by various orders applicable throughout the country.

“Legacy waste by itself continues to be a serious problem at most of the places with potential to cause air, water and land pollution and affect public health. Huge valuable urban land is unnecessarily held up under the legacy waste,” it said.

It is high time that all legacy waste sites are cleared and the solid waste generated and collected is scientifically disposed of so as to result in zero leftover waste at the end of the day, the NGT said.

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