Shimla: Acting on the reports of dumping plastic waste haphazardly across 70 dump sites in the states, the State Pollution Control Board has directed the Departments of Urban Development, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj to take necessary action for scientific disposal of the waste.
Rule 15 of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, clearly stipulates the roles and responsibilities of the local authorities and village panchayats regarding scientific disposal of the solid waste produced and remediation of legacy waste sites.
Pollution Board spokesperson claimed that the Pollution Control Board has found “waste to the tune of 1,90,796 tonnes lying in Urban Local Bodies viz., Dharamshala, Mandi, Baddi, Solan, Kullu, Manali, Bilaspur, Una, Santokhgarh, Baijnath, Chowari, Dalhousie, Rewalsar, Sarkaghat and Hamirpur.”
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The Board has observed that the progress of legacy waste remediation work in most of the Urban Local Bodies is sluggish and lags behind the timeline stipulated in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, the spokesperson further added.
Pollution Board has directed the Urban and Rural Development departments to strictly comply with the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The National Green Tribunal is also monitoring the status of Solid Waste Management of the state.
