The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed an expert committee on solid waste management in Delhi to meet every working day for the first two weeks, reported PTI. The committee was set up by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on the basis of an earlier order passed by the court.
“Let them [committee] meet everyday for the first two weeks,” said Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta. “It would be five days a week. After two weeks, we will review.”
Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, who appeared for the lieutenant governor, informed the court that the committee had met on Tuesday and proposed to meet twice a week. But the court rejected the proposal. Members of the committee should not be transferred midway and their names should be submitted to the court, it added.
The court turned down amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves’ suggestion to include two more names to the committee. “No, it cannot be done,” the judges said. “If everyday you will give a list, it cannot function.”
Gonsalves said he wanted the committee to have a national perspective and suggested the name of a Chhattisgarh government officer. However, the court dismissed the proposal since the officer would be required to frequently travel to Delhi.
During an earlier hearing, the court had asked Gonsalves to suggest the names of five persons from civil society and other experts.
On August 17, the court said the problem of solid waste management in the national Capital was “very critical” and the cooperation of citizens would be required to address it. The court asked Baijal to set up the expert panel and direct it to find ways to clean up landfill sites at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa localities.
Last month, the Supreme Court pulled up Baijal for not fixing the city’s garbage problem despite having the power to resolve it.
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