Uttarakhand High Court Judge To Make Field Visit To Understand The Hurdle In Collection & Disposal Of Plastic Waste

The Uttarakhand High Court has decided that one of its Judges shall make a field visit to understand as to what is the hurdle in the actual implementation of its orders for the collection and disposal of plastic waste.

The bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe put forth this proposal while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed by Activist Dushyant Mainali regarding the failure of the State and its Authorities to follow the Solid Waste Management Laws enforced in the State of Uttarakhand.

Hearing the matter on July 7, the Court took into account the the materials placed on record to note that there is utter noncompliance of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018, as there are hardly any registrations obtained by producers, importers or brand owners with the State Pollution Control Board in the State of Uttarakhand.

Consequently, the Court had issued a number of directions to the state authorities and had sought affidavits of compliance from such authorities [the details of the order could be read here (July 7 order) and here (August 3 order)].

Now, on August 29, the petitioner (Dushyant Mainali) submitted before the Court that not much actual work for garbage collection i.e. non-bio degradable plastic waste had been undertaken on the ground.

In view of this, the Court remarked that even it had experienced the same as the bench remarked that when they move around in the State, they find a lot of plastic waste lying in the streets and roads.

Therefore, to better understand as to what is the hurdle in the actual implementation of our orders for collection and disposal of plastic waste, the Court proposed that a field visit be made, by at least one of us along with the concerned District Magistrate, Member Secretary of SLSA, Executive Officer of the Zila Panchayat, Nainital and Regional Officer, Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, Haldwani, Village Development Officer, Village Dhanachuli on September 9, 2022, at 02:00 p.m. '

The field visit shall take place at village Dhanachuli, District Nainital and the Registrar General of the Court has also been directed to remain present and the counsel for the parties have also been permitted to remain present.

With this, the matter was directed to be taken up by the Court on September 12, 2022.

Click Here To Read/Download Order