Delhi's Going Seriously Green With Their New Plastic Ban

The National Green Tribunal of New Delhi has banned the use of disposable plastic in Delhi and NCR, which should come as a silver lining as reports of Delhi’s sickening levels of pollution continue to dominate news headlines. The law will come in to effect by January 1, 2017. However, we shouldn’t get too excited as the law is a bit misleading. As per reports, the government is really only clamping down on disposable tea cups and plastic bags specifically.

What is even more disappointing is that the direction that mandates the city government to take steps to reduce dumped waste is going to be tiptoed around, in a manner of speaking. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Swatanter Kumar has refused to followed the direction as it would entail shutting down the Okhla waste-to-energy plant as well as two other plants at Gazipur and Bhalswa.

Kumar stated, “We direct that the Okhla plant shall continue to operate subject to the order of the tribunal... All the corporations, DDA and other public authorities including NCT of Delhi are directed to take immediate steps for reduction and utilisation of dumped waste.”

Although the bench spared the three waste-to-energy plants from closure, they at least did not shy away from ridiculing the lax in environmental protocol pervasive in our nation’s capital; “each of these sites is a depiction of mess that can be created for environment and health of people of Delhi.”

The directions to close the three plants came on a plea filed by Sukhdev Vihar Residents Welfare Association desperate for closure of the Okha waste-to-energy plant, alleging that it uses illegal mass burning technology. In light of Delhi’s current environmental debacle, air pollution caused by government agencies, in an obviously irresponsible and illegal manner, is rather deplorable.
As far as repercussions go the bench has directed the plants to “strictly follow” the prescribed norms provided in the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and the Solid Waste Management Rules established in 2016. The punitive measure for the plants will be a fine of Rs. five lakh for non-compliance of directions and pollution infractions.

And for preventative measures the bench has constituted a joint inspection team to supervise and visit the plants once every two months. The members include secretaries of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), a senior scientist of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and an IIT Delhi professor; their report is expected to be released within six weeks.