New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for the ‘mountains of garbage’ in the city.
The court said the L-G had the power to clear the mess but was not exercising it. In what is likely to be seen as a further boost for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the court said the CM cannot be blamed.
“He (L-G) says he has the power, but he won't exercise it. How many directions has he issued? How long will you take to clear this mess?” the court asked on Thursday.
The SC also added that this time, the LG could not blame CM Kejriwal. “You can't drag the CM into this because L-G has said he has the authority. It seems he (LG) thinks everything is honky dory,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand who was arguing the matter.
The court told the ASG to take instructions from L-G by 2 pm on Thursday.
This comes two days after the apex court said that Delhi was getting buried under garbage while Mumbai was sinking underwater in the monsoon. The government, the SC said, was doing nothing. "You see, Delhi is getting buried under mountain loads of garbage and Mumbai is sinking. But yet, the government does not do anything. When the courts intervene, we are attacked for judicial activism. We are given lectures on separation of powers and encroachment of jurisdiction," it said.
The bench was annoyed after it was informed that around 13 states and several Union Territories have not yet formulated their policy for a solid waste management strategy. The top court slapped a fine of Rs one lakh each on Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Punjab, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry for not filing the affidavit despite earlier directions. The bench also slapped a fine of Rs two lakh each on "remaining defaulting states/UTs" whose lawyers were also not present in the courtroom during the hearing, without naming these states.
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