The municipal solid waste (MSW) processing facility at Chikalthana, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, is clearly violating the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was told July 2, 2025.
A report was filed by a joint committee, following a site visit on September 5, 2024 by representatives of the Central Pollution Control Board, the District Magistrate of Aurangabad, and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), highlighted several violations.
“The facility has not provided an adequate treatment system for managing the leachate generated during solid waste processing. Since its inception, untreated leachate has been subjected to solar evaporation in a lined collection tank,” the report said.
Furthermore, untreated leachate is being discharged from the facility without any treatment into the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) sewerage network, located 3 kilometres away, through a reinforced cement concrete pipeline. It is subsequently treated at the terminal sewage treatment plant (STP) at Zalta, the joint committee report stated.
The committee found that the facility is discharging untreated leachate into the sewerage system, in violation of the SWM Rules, 2016. The regional office of the MPCB in Aurangabad has issued directions to AMC’s Chikalthana facility for several reported non-compliances, including the absence of a leachate treatment system, discharge of leachate into the Sukhna River via a natural drain, failure to process legacy waste, failure to commission a sanitary landfill for reject disposal and non-renewal of existing authorisation.
The committee also calculated environmental compensation for contravening the mandatory provisions of the SWM Rules, 2016 and for failing to begin remediation work on the legacy waste site since April 2020, among other violations. The total environmental compensation levied on AMC has been assessed at Rs 7,42,12,500.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is carrying out weekly cleaning of the Yamuna stretch between Wazirabad and Jagatpur village, specifically at Shyam Ghat and Ram Ghat, the NGT was told July 9, 2025. To better manage neighbourhood waste, large bins have also been installed along the stretch of Pushta Road, the MCD stated in a report.
Delhi Development Authority (DDA), as the land-owning agency, is responsible for cleaning the area, the report said. While MCD is prepared to provide manpower upon DDA’s request, no such request has yet been received. A letter was sent to DDA on July 7, 2025, proposing joint action by MCD and DDA along the Yamuna River and its ghats.
A submission filed by applicant Priyanka Bharati before the NGT on July 2, 2025 highlighted illegal constructions along the Budhi Ganga River in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Despite numerous complaints, unauthorised constructions have taken place on the riverbed and within the floodplain of the Budhi Ganga, Bharati told the NGT. The Meerut district administration has failed to take any substantive or deterrent action in response, she alleged.
The NGT, in a March 17, 2025 order, directed the district magistrate of Meerut to ensure that no illegal construction occurs on the riverbed. However, the applicant stated that illegal constructions continue unabated, in open defiance of NGT directions and seemingly with the full knowledge of the district administration.
The failure of the Uttar Pradesh government and the National Mission for Clean Ganga to protect the river system represents “an alarming abdication of their statutory duties and public trust.” This failure is particularly pronounced in the Hastinapur region, the applicant claimed.