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The National Green Tribunal has issued notices to Delhi authorities over the garbage crisis in Southeast Delhi, citing environmental laws.
The delay in forming the MCD Standing Committee has hindered garbage collection, causing health issues.
Meanwhile, the NGT is addressing pollution in Tamil Nadu's Uyyankondan River and Odisha's Beda Bandha waterbody renovation efforts.
Taking a serious note of the garbage problem in parts of Delhi, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) July 16, 2025 directed notices to be issued to the authorities to file their reply. Notices were issued to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB); Delhi Pollution Control Committee; Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and District Magistrate South East Delhi. The court will next hear the case on October 8, 2025.
The matter attracts the provisions of The Environment Protection Act, 1986, The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the court said.
The application was registered suo motu on the basis of the news item titled We can smell it even inside our homes: Southeast Delhi localities choke on garbage appearing in the Indian Express on July 12, 2025.
The matter is related to a serious garbage problem in south east Delhi, especially in places like Shaheen Bagh and Sarita Vihar. The article said that garbage has been left uncollected for many days, causing bad smells and health problems. In Shaheen Bagh, streets that usually have food stalls now smell like rotten trash.
The article also mentioned that on High Tension Road, also called 40-futta, big garbage piles near homes have many flies around them. Shopkeepers say no Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) garbage trucks have come for the past many days. The problem happened because the contract with Dakshin Dilli Swachh Initiatives Limited (DDSIL), the company that collects garbage, ended in November 2023 and has only been extended temporarily.
The article mentioned that the delay in forming the MCD Standing Committee, which is needed to approve big spending, is stopping the contract from being renewed or payments being made. Because of this, DDSIL and MCD have stopped collecting garbage. Councillors have said there are not enough working garbage trucks, and officials say no real solution can happen until the Standing Committee is formed.
NGT on July 16, 2025 took suo motu cognisance of the deteriorating condition of River Uyyankondan in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu and directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to look into the matter and file its reply. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board; District Magistrate, Tiruchirappalli and Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation have also been asked to file their reply on the matter before the southern bench of NGT.
The original application was registered suo motu on the basis of the news item titled Activists warn pathetic condition of Uyyankondan river appearing in DT Next July 4, 2025. The matter related to the deteriorating condition of the Uyyankondan in Tiruchirappalli, once a vital irrigation canal.
The article stated that Uyyankondan, originally created for irrigation, flows through Tiruchy city and reaches the Boothalur Charandi River via Valavanthankottai in Tiruverumbur, covering a distance of around 46 km and irrigating nearly 32,000 acres of land.
The river is now filled with thick vegetation and untreated sewage is being discharged directly into it. As per the article, the present condition is described as pathetic, with the overgrown vegetation blocking the free flow of water.
The Berhampur Municipal Corporation has started cleaning off the Beda Bandha waterbody and has taken steps to prevent dumping of garbage into the waterbody. The municipal corporation has assured to put railing / fencing / wall of appropriate height to ensure that there are no further encroachments into the waterbody and its embankment. Instructions were also given to plant grass and plants to create an eco-friendly park.
These were some of the steps taken to preserve the waterbody, stated the report filed before the eastern bench of NGT by the collector and district magistrate, Ganjam on July 14, 2025.
To protect the waterbody from degradation / erosion, proper embankment has been made. Further, the municipal corporation has constructed public utility services like bathing ghats surrounding the waterbody.
The Berhampur Municipal Corporation is taking necessary measures to remove solid materials including plastic bottles, algae and other foreign particles from the surface of the waterbody on a regular basis.
The report mentioned that on the basis of the information furnished by the revenue inspectors of the Berhampur tehsil, there is no government land available nearby to create a new waterbody. However, in response to one of the previous orders of the NGT in a similar case, land was identified which was covered with water plants, bushes and silt.
In response to the instructions of the collector, Ganjam and the Berhampur Municipal Corporation, renovation and recreation of the land was undertaken under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Scheme (AMRUT Scheme).
Regional office of the State Pollution Control Board, Berhampur has been taking water samples from Baula Bandha on a regular basis and the analysis reports have been submitted to the municipal corporation for taking necessary action. As the re-creation of the Beda Bandha waterbody is still under progress, new water samples will be taken after completion, the report added.
The compliance report was in response to the directions passed in the eastern zone bench in Kolkata on March 22, 2023.
An application was filed before the tribunal questioning the legality of the status of some of the plots of the Baula Bandha water body and its embankment under Berhampur Tehsil. The application said that a considerable part of the waterbody was destroyed due to the illegal encroachments and constructions.
Final summary: The National Green Tribunal has taken significant steps to address environmental issues across India. Notices have been issued to Delhi authorities over the garbage crisis in Southeast Delhi, highlighting the delay in forming the MCD Standing Committee. Meanwhile, the NGT is tackling pollution in Tamil Nadu's Uyyankondan River and overseeing renovation efforts for Odisha's Beda Bandha waterbody, aiming to restore ecological balance.