LITIGATIONS :

In view of the Public Interest Litigations (PIL), various courts have viewed the matter of sanitation seriously. Some of the important decisions delivered by the courts are:

In Municipal Corporation Ratlam Vs Vardhichand (Air 1980 SC 1622), the Supreme Court issued direction to the municipal council to abate environmental pollution. The court categorically fixed responsibility on the municipal council to abate nuisance as it is one of the obligatory functions of the council.

In L.K. Koolwal Vs State of Rajasthan (AIR 1988 Raj 2), THE high Court held that it was not the duty of the court to see whether funds were available or not and whether the staff was available or not, it was for municipality to see how to perform its primary duties. The court also held that when every citizen owes a constitutional duty to protect environment under Article 51-A, the citizen must also be entitled to enlist the courts aid in enforcing that duty against recalcitrant state agencies, including municipalities.

In Rampal Vs State of Rajasthan (AIR 1981 Raj 121), the court held that municipal boards were primarily responsible for maintaining sanitation and for taking proper steps for creating and maintaining a healthy environment within municipal area.

In a writ petition © No.286 of 1994, Dr. B.L. Wadhera Vs Union of India, Hon'ble Supreme Court of India delivered a judgment on 1st March 1996. A 29-page judgment touched garbage affairs of Delhi and issued several directions to the local municipal authorities to perform upto satisfaction of public, which are their statutory obligations.

The Supreme Court directed CPCB and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to inspect different areas of Delhi and New Delhi to ascertain that the collection, transportation and disposal of garbage/waste is carried out satisfactorily. The court further directed CPCB and DPCC to file the reports by way of an affidavit after every two months for a period of two years. Since then, CPCB and DPCC have filed six affidavits and inspection reports which represented in-depth analysis of garbage management in Delhi and made several recommendations for consideration of MCD and NDMC to improve the existing situation.