New Delhi: Irked by a Delhi government proposal for a landfill site in the residential area of Sonia Vihar without seeking the views of local residents, the Supreme Court asked why garbage should not be dumped before the lieutenant governor’s house instead of harassing the common people.
The court referred to a recent study conducted by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital which concluded that air pollution and not smoking is a major factor for lung cancer in India.
The court suggested on Monday that the landfill site could be at the cost of less well-off sections, observing that though it was not aware of the profile of the area it was likely that ordinary people resided there. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said piling of unprocessed garbage on Delhi’s roads had reached alarming proportions but the government had not taken swift action to deal with it.
The court referred to a recent study conducted by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital which concluded that air pollution and not smoking is a major factor for lung cancer in India.
“Will there be any person alive in Delhi in such a situation? It is an emergency situation but your reaction does not reflect the emergency,” the bench told additional solicitor general Pinky Anand, appearing for Delhi government.
The ASG contended that the government has a plan to deal with the problem but it could not be resolved overnight. She said the decision on setting up new waste-to-energy plants by South and North Delhi Municipal Corporations had been taken while existing plants will be enhanced. New units will be operational from December 2019.
But when Anand informed that a new landfill site planned in Sonia Vihar was delayed due to opposition from residents, the court asked why consultations had not been held to assure that garbage would not be dumped in front of their houses.
“You are taking the stand of 1975 (Emergency-era) when people’s opinion was not sought. Why not dump the garbage in front of Raj Niwas? You cannot treat people like this. I do not know what kind of colony is Sonia Vihar but I can say that people residing there must not belong to well-to-do families and that is why you have selected the site. Life of people gets affected if garbage is dumped in front of their houses. It is not acceptable,” the bench said.