Himachal HC Pulls up Govt on Garbage Chaos, Orders Tough Action on Green Cess, Kenduwal Dumping
SHIMLA:
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has delivered another stinging rebuke to the State government for its failure to rein in the spiralling garbage crisis, calling out officials for a glaring vision deficit in solid waste management and environmental governance.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the latest directions in the long-running PIL Suleman & Others vs Union of India & Others, now the State’s biggest judicial mirror on everything going wrong—from plastic flooding the hills to collapsing waste systems and choking tourist towns.
Green Fee on Tourist Vehicles: “No Numbers, No Planning”
The government claimed it had proposed a ₹10 solid waste management cess on tourist vehicles entering the State through Parwanoo, Nurpur, Una, and Bilaspur.
But the Court was unconvinced. There was no data on tourist inflow, no projection of revenue, and no clarity on implementation.
The Bench ordered the Urban Development Department to return with a fresh, data-backed affidavit.
Residents Must Pay Too, Says HC
In a blunt pushback against the State’s attempt to shift all responsibility onto tourists, the Court said a similar cess should be levied on residents—possibly through electricity bills.
“Waste is not generated by tourists alone,” the Bench reminded the government, directing it to create a balanced financial model for both dry and wet waste management.
92 Blocks Without MRFs: State Pulled Up
The shock was in the numbers: 92 rural blocks still lack Material Recovery Facilities, even as garbage piles grow taller by the day.
Each MRF costs ₹50 lakh, yet the State has no budgeting roadmap.
Even 48 existing urban waste centres require upgrades, but there is no financial blueprint.
The Bench termed this a complete absence of planning by the Urban Development Department.
Kenduwal Legacy Waste Mountain: 76,905 MT and Counting
The Court expressed deep distress over the 76,905 metric tonnes of legacy waste lying at Kenduwal in BBN.
Only 55% of payments to operator M/s JBR Technologies have been released, with the rest withheld for non-compliance.
The Court ordered:
• Regular monitoring of waste heap heights and installation of CCTV cameras
• Mandatory monthly inspections
• Fresh tenders if door-to-door collection continues to fail
• A review meeting on withheld payments and the operator’s grievances
• A full progress report for October 2025 before the next hearing
Ecology at Breaking Point, Says Bench
Linking the crisis to issues pending before the Supreme Court, the HC reminded the State that Himachal’s ecology is under severe and unprecedented pressure.
It demanded time-bound, self-financed solutions—not bureaucratic paperwork.
A PIL That Became a Statewide Environmental Audit
What began in 2018 as a complaint about dumping near the Sirsa river in Baddi has now evolved into Himachal’s most wide-ranging environmental case.
The Court has previously directed:
• EPR compliance by 3,500 plastic-producing companies
• Revival of the plastic buyback scheme
• Deposit-refund systems on plastic packaging
• Regulation of trekking routes with user fees
• Statewide cleaning drives led by Special Task Forces
• DLSA monitoring of compliance across districts
The PIL now covers failures from urban planning to plastic control to tourism load management.
Next Hearing on December 15. The Court will next review:
• Revenue projections from tourist and resident cesses
• Progress at Kenduwal
• Funding strategy for rural and urban waste infrastructure
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