New Delhi: The Delhi government has moved the Supreme Court against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, by which a high-level committee was set up for handling solid waste management in the national capital. The committee is headed by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K. Saxena.
AAP-led Delhi government, which has been at odds with the LG over several issues, in the plea, filed through lawyer Shadan Farasat, sought quashing of NGT’s final order passed on February 16.
The plea contended that the Delhi government is aggrieved by the executive powers conferred on the LG through the order over areas in which only the elected government of Delhi enjoys competence.
The plea said, “The NGT has appointed the Lt. Governor as the chairman of a committee when there was absolutely no statutory or constitutional power conferred upon the Lt. Governor to chair such a committee.”
The Delhi government contended that “the effect of the impugned order is to bypass the elected government completely and hand over the power with regard to the management of solid waste to the Lt. Governor of Delhi, civil servants in the NCT of Delhi and the central government. This completely dehors the constitutional scheme…”
The plea contended that NGT had constituted a high-level committee for the purposes of handling solid waste management in Delhi.
“This committee comprises of the Chief Secretary, Delhi, Secretaries of the Irrigation, Forest and Environment, Agriculture, and Finance Departments, Government of Delhi, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Jal Board, Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority, Secretary or his nominee in Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, DG Forest or his nominee, MoEF&CC, Government of India, Secretary, MoJS or his nominee, MoEF&CC, DG NMCG and Chairman CPCB. Importantly, the impugned irder has constituted this high-level committee with the Lt. Governor of Delhi, a mere figurehead as its chairperson,” said the plea.
The plea contended that the executive power for matters relating to local governance lies exclusively with the state government (in the present case, GNCTD) under the Constitution, except to the extent limited by an express Parliamentary law.
“Apart from byelaws which have been enacted by Ministry of Urban Development, GNCTD for separate municipal corporations, Solid Waste Management is also governed by the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2016 and Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 which were formulated under Section 6(1) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which too do not confer any power upon the Lt. Governor of Delhi to chair such a high-level committee,” said the plea.
Few days ago, the Delhi government had filed a separate plea challenging another order of the NGT naming the L-G as the chairperson of a high-level committee (HLC) on Yamuna pollution.
(IANS)
