NGT pulls up Delhi government over waste management lapses, seeks fresh reports

New Delhi [India], January 8 (ANI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has raised serious concerns over the Delhi government's failure to regularly report on solid and liquid waste management and has directed the Chief Secretary of the Government of NCT of Delhi to submit detailed progress reports, especially on sewage management.
The directions were issued during a hearing on compliance with the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The Tribunal noted that its earlier order of February 16, 2023, requiring periodic compliance reports, was not followed for a long time. Although the Delhi government later informed the Tribunal that it had challenged this order before the Supreme Court and then withdrew the appeal in May 2025, the NGT said this did not justify the delay in compliance.
On solid waste management, the Tribunal noted the Supreme Court's strong observations in the MC Mehta case. The Supreme Court has repeatedly noted that Delhi generates around 11,000 tonnes of waste per day, but has the capacity to process only about 8,000 tonnes. As a result, nearly 3,000 tonnes of waste remain unprocessed daily, adding to pollution and posing a serious health risk.
Since the matter is already being examined by the Supreme Court, the NGT said it would avoid issuing parallel directions but asked the Delhi government to continue filing progress reports for the record.
However, on liquid waste and sewage management, the Tribunal said there was no indication that the issue was pending before the Supreme Court.
Reviewing the data placed on record, the NGT noted that Delhi generates about 792 million gallons of sewage per day. While 37 sewage treatment plants have sufficient installed capacity, some of it is not being fully utilised, resulting in a treatment gap of 88 million gallons per day.
The Tribunal also noted that nine sewage treatment plants were not meeting pollution control standards as of September 2025.
The NGT observed that untreated or partially treated sewage flowing through drains into the Yamuna River continues to be a major cause of pollution. It therefore directed the Chief Secretary to file a detailed, time-bound report in a fixed format, covering sewer connections, drain-wise sewage flows, treatment capacity, treatment plant performance, and steps taken to close existing gaps.
The Tribunal also asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to place water quality data of the Yamuna River in the next report.
To assist the Tribunal, advocates Katyayni and Vikrant Badesra were appointed as amici curiae. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 6, 2026. (ANI)