HC seeks response of BMC on petition against solid waste management rules

The Bombay High Court Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to file a reply to a petition challenging its current solid waste management rules for housing societies in the metropolis. The public interest litigation (PIL), filed by city resident Aparajita Aiyer, has highlighted problems in a 2017 BMC notification that made it mandatory for hotels, malls and large housing societies -- termed by the civic body as bulk waste generators-- to segregate dry and wet waste at source and to treat or compost the wet waste it generated.

The PIL, however, claimed that the notification was issued by the BMC in haste without creating adequate awareness among residents, housing society office-bearers, etc on waste segregation, treatment and composting. The plea stated that while the BMC's intention behind such notification was noble and much needed, it must be directed to first provide adequate awareness and training to residents.

The petitioner's lawyer, advocate Shweta Kamble, also told a bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice NM Jamdar that even as the BMC was making waste segregation at source mandatory, its own staff was collecting such waste and ultimately dumping all the waste together at the landfill site. The bench directed the BMC to file its reply within the next two weeks.

In 2017, the BMC had ordered all housing societies and commercial establishments larger than 20,000 square metres or those producing more than 100 kilogrammes wet waste to start segregating and composting waste in their premises.

(With inputs from agencies.)