Waste rules failing in India: SC on Adampur

Bhopal: The Supreme Court enlarged the scope of a petition filed by Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Adampur landfill to include Union govt and state officials. SC was hearing BMC's plea challenging the July 31, 2023 order of the NGT ( National Green Tribunal) imposing a fine of Rs 1.80 crore on the civic body for alleged violation of Solid Waste Management & Handling Rules at Adampur landfill site.
SC remarked that statutory rules introduced from time to time for solid waste management across India were failing on the ground. The bench directed the BMC to add 3 top officials each from the Union and state govts as respondents in the petition so that the reasons for the lack of effective solid waste management on the ground could be examined. The Union govt officials to be impleaded as respondents in the petition, on the orders of the SC, include secretary, ministry of environment, forest & climate change, secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs and secretary, ministry of Panchayati Raj. The state respondents will comprise the chief secretary, additional chief secretary, urban development and housing department, and principal secretary, housing and environment department. Following arguments on Feb 11, 2026, the two-judge SC bench of Justice Pankaj Mihal and Justice SVN Bhatti observed that the solid management rules were amended in 2000, and again in 2016, adding that the previous two amended rules have now been replaced by Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026. However, the bench noted that despite making changes to the statutory provisions to make them more binding, there was lack of effective implementation on the ground. "The court is of the view that the statutory mechanism is not yielding desired results because of several factors at the field level. Though the introduction of new rules is a welcome step, the authorities are expected to complete the spade work before the effective date sets in. Otherwise, the amended provisions under Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 will not alter the ground reality," SC said.