SC directs Uttar Pradesh to clarify land handover status and timeline for the Khoda-Makanpur STP.
CPCB and UP-SPCB ordered to collect fresh samples from eight STPs and wetlands within two weeks.
SC seeks details of government policies ensuring equal facilities for EWS students, including digital access.
Joint committee findings on Greater Noida reveal past C&D waste dumping in a designated green belt.
Master Plan 2041 now prohibits all waste disposal or treatment facilities within green belt areas.
The Supreme Court (SC), on December 3, 2025, directed Uttar Pradesh to file an affidavit clarifying whether the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam has been handed possession of the land allocated by NOIDA for the proposed sewage treatment plant (STP) in Khoda-Makanpur. The affidavit must also specify the timeline for establishing the STP.
The direction followed a report indicating that all wastewater generated from Khoda Nagar Palika flows through Delhi before entering the Kondli/NOIDA drain. The report also confirmed that possession of the site has not been transferred to the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, delaying commencement of the STP’s construction.
Counsel for NOIDA stated that land for the STP had been allotted to the Khoda-Makanpur municipality, but it had not yet been handed over to the Jal Nigam.
A compliance affidavit filed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) presented analytical results from NOIDA’s STPs, based on samples drawn on October 15, 2025 by Shriram Institute for Industrial Research. However, it did not specify whether the results met applicable discharge norms. The SC therefore directed the CPCB to submit a more detailed affidavit confirming whether the samples complied with prescribed standards.
Noting that the October samples were collected when the extended 2025 monsoon had not yet ended, the Court instructed both CPCB and the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to draw fresh inlet and outlet samples from all eight STPs, as well as associated wetlands, within two weeks. Analytical reports must be placed on record by the next hearing on January 21, 2026.
Samples are also to be shared with the Delhi Jal Board and NOIDA for independent analysis. The Delhi Jal Board has been asked to respond to the compliance affidavit by the next date.
SC seeks information on facilities for economically weaker section students
On December 1, 2025 the Supreme Court granted the Additional Solicitor General two weeks to submit details of government policies and decisions ensuring uniform provision of essential facilities to students from economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged groups.
These students are entitled to free education under Article 21A of the Constitution. The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea seeking provision of gadgets to EWS students to enable participation in virtual classes in Delhi-NCR when schools shut due to air pollution.
The matter will be heard next on February 3, 2026.
The Supreme Court, on December 1, 2025, considered a joint committee report on allegations of illegal construction and demolition (C&D) waste dumping in a designated green belt area of Greater Noida.
The committee noted that a temporary C&D waste storage site had been set up in March 2022 in a demarcated green belt and removed in June 2024 following an NGT order of May 28, 2024. Residents informed the committee that the facility had involved installing a gate and removing part of the boundary wall to allow movement of waste-laden vehicles.
During an inspection on June 18, 2025, no temporary storage facility was found at the Block-N, Sector Delta III site, and the boundary wall appeared to have been repaired, indicating earlier demolition. No gate was visible. The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority told the Supreme Court that no trees were cut when the collection centre was established, a claim supported by satellite imagery analysis.
The report observed that the Greater Noida Master Plan 2021 permitted waste disposal and treatment sites within green belts but did not clarify the types of facilities allowed, leaving ambiguity over whether a C&D collection centre qualified under this category. Waste disposal and treatment could include secured landfills, composting, biomethanation, or incineration.
According to information supplied by the Authority in July 2025, the Master Plan 2041 was approved on November 12, 2024 and notified on February 5, 2025. The updated plan prohibits all waste disposal and treatment facilities, temporary or permanent, within designated green belts. The report also noted that the C&D Waste Management Rules, 2016 do not require State Pollution Control Board authorisation for setting up C&D waste collection centres.