A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to the AAP government, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and the Public Works Department (PWD), and sought their reply before July 11.

The Tribunal asked the authorities to show cause why appropriate action should not be taken against them for violating its orders.

Issue of responsibility

Appearing for the EDMC, advocate Balendu Shekhar said although the area falls under the corporation’s jurisdiction the responsibility of cleaning drains is with the Irrigation & Flood Control Department of the Delhi government.

The order came after the NGT took suo motu cognisance of a media report and photograph showing a drain clogged with municipal solid waste near a residential area in Seelampur here.

The Tribunal had earlier said that municipal solid waste is one of the most serious pollutants in the country, especially in Delhi, and announced a fine of Rs. 10,000 on those found throwing waste at public places.

The green panel had said that all authorities are under “statutory” obligation to ensure that waste is “collected, transported and disposed” of in accordance with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, so that it does not cause public health hazards.

Taking notice of the dumping of waste on public roads by commercial establishments, the municipal corporation had constituted two mobile teams to identify the erring ones and impose stiff penalties on them.

Municipal Commissioner C. Anuradha said a private firm had been assigned the task of collecting and segregating solid and wet waste and moving them to the dumping yard at Naidupalem.

“Sanitation has emerged as a major challenge and we will not spare anyone spoiling the roads. Hefty penalties will be imposed and if the shopkeepers keep on littering the roads, we will seal the shops,’’ said Ms. Anuradha.

Under ‘Oorante Gunture’, a fortnightly campaign to improve sanitation launched in 2013, the GMC gave a big push to door-to-door collection of waste, segregation of dry and wet waste and convert them into energy.

GMC procured hundreds of push carts and involved SHG women to collect waste from houses. The campaign began well, but petered out soon as the municipal corporation had no wherewithal to recycle waste.

In 2015, GMC decided to set up a 15 MW waste-to-energy plant by JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd, a firm owned by Jindal company, at Obulunaiduvaripalem on the Guntur-Chennai national highway.An agreement was signed with the firm, and is now in the process of securing the various clearances.