Item No. 01 Court No.
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI
(IN CHAMBERS)
(Office report for directions for rescheduling the appearance of Chief
Secretaries in compliance of earlier orders and taking on record
report of the Niti Ayog dated 25.6.2020)
In Original Application No. 606/2018
Compliance of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and
other environmental issues
Date of hearing: 02.07.2020
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, CHAIRPERSON
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S. P. WANGDI, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON’BLE DR. SATYAWAN SINGH GARBYAL, EXPERT MEMBER
ORDER
1. The Tribunal has been considering the issue of non-compliance of
Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other important
environmental issues for protection of public health and the environment
in this matter. The issues of solid as well as liquid waste management
are being monitored as per orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide
order dated 02.09.2014 in Writ Petition No. 888/1996, Almitra H. Patel vs.
Union of India & Ors., (with regard to solid waste management) and order
reported in (2017) 5 SCC 326, Paryavaran Suraksha vs. Union of India
relating to liquid waste management. Other related issues include
pollution of 351river stretches, 122 non attainment cities in terms of air
quality, 100 polluted industrial clusters, illegal sand mining etc.
2. After several orders and proceedings before this Tribunal, on
16.01.2019, the Tribunal held that it will be necessary to require the
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personal presence of Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs in view of
continuing non-compliance of the solid and liquid waste management
rules adversely affecting the environment and public health. Needless to
say that such large scale non compliance of environmental law is
resulting in deaths and diseases and irreversible damage to the
environment without punishment and accountability for such non-
compliance. Violation of the Rules as well as orders of this Tribunal being
by itself criminal offence under the law of land, non compliance is to be
viewed sternly to enforce rule of law. No State authority can be on the
wrong side of law and still continue hold public office.
3. Accordingly, the Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs appeared
on the scheduled dates till 18.07.2019 and the Tribunal, after reviewing
the status of noncompliance on most of the issues, directed further
effective steps to be taken for compliance of the Rules and the
environmental norms. The directions include setting up of
environmental cells directly under the Chief Secretaries, regular
periodical monitoring by the Chief Secretaries at the State level and by
the District Magistrates at the District level and making atleast some
cities, towns and villages compliant in the first instance and thereafter
making the entire State compliant. Direction is to take action for non-
compliance by recovery of compensation or otherwise. The Tribunal also
directed filing of quarterly reports by the Chief Secretaries. Based on
such reports, CPCB was to file consolidated status reports. The Chief
Secretaries were to appear after six months with updated status of
compliance.
4. The matter was reviewed on 12.09.2019 in the light of reports of
the CPCB dated 09.09.2019 showing wide gaps in compliance of solid
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waste, plastic waste, bio-medical waste management, rejuvenation
of identified polluted river stretches, polluted industrial clusters
and non-attainment cities. A fresh schedule for appearance of the
Chief Secretaries was issued. Accordingly, the Chief Secretaries of 18
States/UTs1 appeared and filed updated status reports and since there
still existed huge gaps in compliance, further directions were issued by
way of different orders. Last such order is 28.2.2020. Other orders are on
same pattern. The direction part of the said order is reproduced below:
“41. In view of above, consistent with the directions referred to in
Para 29 issued on 10.01.2020 in the case of UP, Punjab and
Chandigarh which have also been repeated for other States in
matters already dealt with, we direct:
a. In view of the fact that most of the statutory timelines
have expired and directions of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court and this Tribunal to comply with Solid Waste
Management Rules, 2016 remain unexecuted, interim
compensation scale is hereby laid down for
continued failure after 31.03.2020. The
compliance of the Rules requires taking of several
steps mentioned in Rule 22 from Serial No. 1 to 10
(mentioned in para 12 above). Any such continued
failure will result in liability of every Local Body
to pay compensation at the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per
month per Local Body for population of above 10
lakhs, Rs. 5 lakh per month per Local Body for
population between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs and Rs.
1 lakh per month per other Local Body from
01.04.2020 till compliance. If the Local Bodies
are unable to bear financial burden, the liability
will be of the State Governments with liberty to
take remedial action against the erring Local
Bodies. Apart from compensation, adverse entries
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States/UTs Appeared Next date
on
UP, Punjab & Chandigarh 10.01.2020 24.08.2020
West Bengal 17.01.2020 04.09.2020
Maharashtra 24.01.2020 11.09.2020
Rajasthan and Andaman & Nicobar 31.01.2020 18.09.2020
Telangana 14.02.2020 25.09.2020
Karnataka 20.02.2020 01.10.2020
J&K and Sikkim 24.02.2020 07.10.2020
Madhya Pradesh 25.02.2020 14.10.2020
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and 28.02.2020 03.11.2020
Meghalaya
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must be made in the ACRs of the CEO of the said
Local Bodies and other senior functionaries in
Department of Urban Development etc. who are
responsible for compliance of order of this
Tribunal. Final compensation may be assessed
and recovered by the State PCBs/PCCs in the light
of Para 33 above within six months from today.
CPCB may prepare a template and issue an
appropriate direction to the State PCBs/PCCs for
undertaking such an assessment in the light
thereof within one month.
b. Legacy waste remediation was to ‘commence’ from
01.11.2019 in terms of order of this Tribunal
dated 17.07.2019 in O.A. No. 519/2019 para 282
even though statutory timeline for ‘completing’
the said step is till 07.04.2021 (as per serial no.
11 in Rule 22), which direction remains
unexecuted at most of the places and delay in
clearing legacy waste is causing huge damage to
environment in monetary terms as noted in para
33 above, pending assessment and recovery of
such damage by the concerned State PCB within
four months from today, continued failure of every
Local Body on the subject of commencing the work
of legacy waste sites remediation from
01.04.2020 till compliance will result in liability
to pay compensation at the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per
month per Local Body for population of above 10
lakhs, Rs. 5 lakh per month per Local Body for
population between 5 lakhs and 10 lakhs and Rs.
1 lakh per month per other Local Body. If the
Local Bodies are unable to bear financial burden,
the liability will be of the State Governments with
liberty to take remedial action against the erring
Local Bodies. Apart from compensation, adverse
entries must be made in the ACRs of the CEO of
the said Local Bodies and other senior
functionaries in Department of Urban
Development etc. who are responsible for
compliance of order of this Tribunal. Final
compensation may be assessed and recovered by
the State PCBs/PCCs in the light of Para 33 above
within six months from today.
c. Further, with regard to thematic areas listed above in
para 20, steps be ensured by the Chief Secretaries in
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The Chief Secretaries may ensure allocation of funds for processing of legacy waste and its
disposal and in their respective next reports, give the progress relating to management of
all the legacy waste dumpsites. Remediation work on all other dumpsites may commence
from 01.11.2019 and completed preferably within six months and in no case beyond one
year. Substantial progress be made within six months. We are conscious that the SWM
Rules provide for a maximum period of upto five years for the purpose, however there is no
reason why the same should not happen earlier, in view of serious implications on the
environment and public health.
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terms of directions of this Tribunal especially w.r.t.
plastic waste, bio-medical waste, construction and
demolition waste which are linked with solid waste
treatment and disposal. Action may also be ensured by
the Chief Secretaries of the States/UTs with respect to
remaining thematic areas viz. hazardous waste, e-
waste, polluted industrial clusters, reuse of treated
water, performance of CETPs/ETPs, groundwater
extraction, groundwater recharge, restoration of water
bodies, noise pollution and illegal sand mining.
d. The compensation regime already laid down for failure
of the Local Bodies and/or Department of Irrigation and
Public Health/In-charge Department to take action for
treatment of sewage in terms of observations in Para 36
above will result in liability to pay compensation as
already noted above which are reproduced for ready
reference:
i. Interim measures for phytoremediation/
bioremediation etc. in respect of 100% sewage to
reduce the pollution load on recipient water
bodies – 31.03.2020. Compensation is payable for
failure to do so at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per
month per drain by concerned Local Bodies/States
(in terms of orders dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No.
593/2017 and 06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018)
w.e.f. 01.04.2020.
ii. Commencement of setting up of STPs –
31.03.2020. Compensation is payable for failure
to do so at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per month per
STP by concerned Local Bodies/States (in terms of
orders dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No. 593/2017 and
06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018) w.e.f.
01.04.2020.
iii. Commissioning of STPs – 31.03.2021.
Compensation is payable for failure to do so at
the rate of Rs. 10 lakh per month per STP by
concerned Local Bodies/States (in terms of orders
dated 28.08.2019 in O.A. No. 593/2017 and
06.12.2019 in O.A. No. 673/2018) w.e.f.
01.04.2021.
e. Compensation in above terms may be deposited with
the CPCB for being spent on restoration of environment
which may be ensured by the Chief Secretaries’ of the
States/UTs.
f. An ‘Environment Monitoring Cell’ may be set up in the
office of Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs within
one month from today, if not already done for
coordination and compliance of above directions which
will be the responsibility of the Chief Secretaries of the
States/UTs.
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g. Compliance reports in respect of significant
environmental issues may be furnished in terms of
order dated 07.01.2020 quarterly with a copy to CPCB.
5. In view of the lockdown, further appearance of the Chief
Secretaries could not take place and we accepted the prayer for deferring
the presence of the Chief Secretaries. This applies to the present case
also in respect of the letter of the Chief Secretary Kerala. The appearance
of the Chief Secretaries of States/UTs who have not appeared in second
round so far is now rescheduled as follows:-
S. NO. STATES/UTs REVISED DATES
1. Bihar 4.1.2021
2. Odisha 6.1.2021
3. Jharkhand 8.1.2021
4. Assam 11.1.2021
5. Delhi 14.1.2021
6. Haryana 18.1.2021
7. Ladakh 20.1.2021
8. Gujarat 22.1.2021
9. Goa 25.1.2021
10. Daman and Diu 27.1.2021
11. Dadar and Nagar Haveli 29.1.2021
12. Himachal Pradesh 1.2.2021
13. Uttarakhand 3.2.2021
14. Chhattisgarh 5.2.2021
15. Kerala 8.2.2021
16. Tamil Nadu 10.2.2021
17. Lakshadweep 12.2.2021
18. Puducherry 15.2.2021
19. Andhra Pradesh 17.2.2021
TIME: 2:00PM
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The state appearing on the respective dates shall submit a quarterly report to
NGT and CPCB, 15 days in advance to their appearance.
6. Appearance of the Chief Secretaries in third round is rescheduled
as follows:
S. NO. STATES/UTs DATE OF HEARING
1. Punjab 1.7.2021
2. Chandigarh 5.7.2021
3. Uttar Pradesh 7.7.2021
4. West Bengal 9.7.2021
5. Maharashtra 12.7.2021
6. Rajasthan 14.7.2021
7. Andaman & Nicobar 16.7.2021
8. Telangana 19.7.2021
9. Karnataka 21.7.2021
10. Jammu & Kashmir 23.7.2021
11. Sikkim 26.7.2021
12. Madhya Pradesh 28.7.2021
13. Arunachal Pradesh 30.7.2021
14. Nagaland 2.8.2021
15. Manipur 4.8.2021
16. Mizoram 6.8.2021
17. Tripura 9.8.2021
18. Meghalaya 11.8.2021
TIME: 2:00PM
The state appearing on the respective dates shall submit a quarterly
report to NGT and CPCB, 15 days in advance to their appearance.
7. In case the physical presence of the Chief Secretaries is not found
viable, they can seek to appear online by way of video conferencing but
they may not delegate this responsibility to any other officer. All the
State/UTs may take further steps for compliance of environmental norms
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in terms of directions already issued including taking coercive measures
for non-compliance against the polluters as well as erring officers and
recovering compensation. Quarterly report may continue to filed with a
copy to CPCB. CPCB may fie consolidated reports quarterly. There may
be a separate column showing compliance of direction for model
compliant cities, towns and villages in every State. The Chief Secretaries
may have this as one of the focus areas in their presentation also.
II. Report of the Niti Ayog:
8. One of the frequent pleas being that time was consumed in
preparing DPRs, tender or other documents, vide order 18.10.2019, The
Tribunal requested Niti Ayog to standardize technologies and costs.
Operative part of the said order is as follows:
“There is need to standardize necessary technologies
with cost breakups for operation and maintenance,
including procurement. Besides this, the service
provides need to be identified and empaneled. This
exercise may also require the concerned authority to
explore business models". It had also stated in
paragraph 2 that -"development of business models for
privatization of (a) sewage collection, treatment and
disposal, including utilization of treated water and
sludge; (b) remediation of legacy waste dumpsites; and
(c) other such activities relating to collection, treatment
and processing and utilization of wastes and provision
of services such as setting up of rainwater harvesting
system may have to be considered.”
9. Accordingly, the NITI Ayog has filed its report 25.06.2020, inter alia
as follows:
“Subsequently, first meeting of the Committee under the
chairmanship of Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog was held on
19.11.2019 wherein it was decided that CEO, NIT! Aayog will be the
nominee of the Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog to chair the committee
constituted by the Hon'ble Tribunal. Thereafter, CEO, NITI Aayog
convened a meeting in which a sub-group was formed under the
chairmanship of Director General, NMCG, which included Additional
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Director-General, NMCG, Additional CEO, GeM Portal, Joint Adviser,
Central Public Health Environmental Engineering Organization
(CPHEEO) of MoHUA, Adviser (Housing & Urban Affairs), NITI Aayog
and Adviser (Water Resources & Land Resources), NITI Aayog. It
was directed during the meeting that this sub-group will take a
decision regarding the documents and business models that should
be uploaded on GeM Portal for easy adoption by states to undertake
solid and liquid waste management in India.
The Committee held three meetings: on 19.11.2019, 20.11.2019 and
17.03.2020. Pursuant to the decisions taken during these meetings,
NITI Aayog has formulated the Model Concession Agreements
(MCAs) and Model Request for Proposals documents (RFPs) for
Integrated Solid Waste Management (including Bio-
Remediation of Legacy Waste) and Integrated Liquid Waste
Management (including Faecal Sludge Management) on
Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) of Public-Private Partnership
(PPP).
MoHUA has provided Engineering Procurement Construction
(EPC) Contract for Legacy Waste Dumpsite Remediation and
several other documents relating to legacy waste dumpsite
remediation and integrated solid waste management
activities such as collection, transportation, processing and
disposal of municipal solid waste.
NMCG has also provided documents for setting up of sewage
treatment plants and other guiding documents for improved
liquid waste management in the country.
Now the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have the following options
for solid waste management and liquid waste management
under PPP:
For Solid Waste Management:
(i) To undertake only legacy waste remediation: existing method
of tendering EPC contract which is entirely financed by the
government be taken up (it is a successful model as indicated
by MoHUA).
(ii) To undertake only solid waste management system collection
transportation processing & disposal) (Non-HAM): the existing
method of tendering Design, Build, Finance, Operate &
Transfer (DBFOT) contracts which is either not funded or only
partly funded by the government be taken up. The drafts of
such agreements, model RFP, list of necessary clauses of such
agreements, and guidelines for drafting of concession
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agreements have been made available through Swachh
Bharat Mission (Urban), MoHUA, and the World Bank.
(iii) To undertake both legacy waste remediation as well as solid
waste management system: the MCA of NITI Aayog under
HAM may be taken up.
(iv) To undertake only solid waste management system
(collection, transportation, processing & disposal) Myth only
the parts of the NITI Aayog MCA pertaining to Bio-Remediation
of Legacy Waste may accordingly be removed by the ULB and
remaining agreement may be taken up.
For Liquid Waste Management:
(i) To undertake only sewage treatment (Non-HAM): existing
method of tendering EPC contract or DBFOT contract for
setting up sewage treatment plants under state or central
government funding schemes, may be taken up.
(ii) To undertake only sewage treatment (under HAM): model
bidding documents prepared by NMCG may be taken up.
(iii) To undertake both sewage treatment as well as faecal sludge
management system: the MCA of NIT1 Aayog under HAM
may be taken up.
As per paragraph 5 of the NGT Order, the Tribunal was of the
opinion that placing these documents on the GeM Portal
would go a long way in tackling the situation by curtailing
procedural delay.
In accordance with the requirement of the NGT Order, all the
relevant documents were shared with the CEO, GeM Portal on
11.06.2020 to initiate the process of uploading of the
documents.
I am sharing the documents with you for the kind information and
reference of the Hon'ble Tribunal.
The following documents are attached herewith:
(A) Order of the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal dated
18.10.2019 in O.A. No. 606/2018 (Main) on `Compliance of
Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other
environmental issues.
(B) Solid Waste Management (SWM)
(i) Model Concession Agreement including Schedules
(prepared by NITI Aayog)
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(ii) Model RFP for Solid Waste Management (prepared by
NITI Aayog)
(iii) EPC Contract for Legacy Waste Dumpsite
Remediation
(iv) DPR preparation Toolkit for Dumpsite remediation
(v) EPC Contractors & O&M Vendors for dumpsite
remediation
(vi) Equipment & Suppliers for dumpsite remediation
(vii) Template for management of Dumpsites
(viii) Toolkit for DPRs preparation
(ix) List of SWM Empanelled Agencies
(x) Empanelled Institutes SWM
(xi) Empanelled Transaction Advisers - SWM
(xii) Checklist for scrutiny of DPR for SWM projects
(xiii) Checklist for scrutiny of PPR or PHI for SWM
projects
(C) Liquid Waste Management (LWM)
(i) Model Concession Agreement (prepared by NITI
Aayog)
(ii) Schedules to Model Concession Agreement (15
Schedules) (prepared by NITI Aayog)
(iii) Model RFP for Liquid Waste Management
(prepared by NITI Aayog)
(iv) DPR Guidelines - LWM
(v) Empanelled Institutes for evaluation of DPRs -
LWM
(vi) List of Transaction Advisers & Project Engineers
- LWM
(vii) Model Bidding Documents for NMCG projects - STP
(D) Letter addressed to the CEO, GeM Portal through which the
above-mentioned documents were shared with GeM, requesting
them to initiate the process of uploading.
The documents listed above have been approved by the competent
authority at NITI Aayog. This submission is in compliance and
fulfillment of the directions given by the Hon’ble National Green
Tribunal to NITI Aayog in its Order dated 18.10.2019 in O.A. No.
606/2018 (Main).”
10. The report is taken on record and may be acted upon by all
States/UTs as per viability to shorten the procedures.
The Office Report stands disposed of accordingly.
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A copy of this order be sent to the Chief Secretaries of all the States/UTs,
CPCB, MoEF&CC, State PCBs/PCCs, Ministry of Jal Shakti and Niti Ayog
by email.
Adarsh Kumar Goel, CP
S. P. Wangdi, JM
Dr. Satyawan Singh Garbyal, EM
July 2, 2020
Original Application No. 606/2018
AK
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