Expressing concern over the high volume of solid waste generated and the lack of civic sense in society, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of directions for its management and disposal, saying the infrastructure for the purpose needs to be scaled up to meet the standards of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026.
A bench of Justices SVN Bhatti and NV Anjaria said it is regrettable that across society, the general feeling is “I am entitled to generate but not to cooperate and control the impact of solid waste management at the threshold”.
The top court said every person, household and institution (without exception) generates solid waste as an inevitable by-product of life and activity and the prevailing assumption that solid waste is a problem for sanitary workers alone, while the rest of the population remains passive generators, is neither legally correct nor practically sustainable, and is constitutionally unethical. The bench said the slow approach of the education department in the matter was slightly unintelligible and troubling the court and the department of school and higher education shall, with immediate effect, integrate both theoretical and practical knowledge on solid waste management for students to train their family members, and also prepare teachers as trainers.
