Gauhati High Court sets 45-day deadline over waste management plant

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has given 45 days' time to the State Government, "as a last opportunity", to submit a concrete plan before the court regarding the action taken so far for construction of the proposed waste management plant for Guwahati city.

The court issued this directive at a recent hearing via video conferencing of a suo moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

It is pertinent to mention that earlier last year, a petitioner had a filed a PIL in the High Court in connection with issues such as dumping of waste material at various places in Guwahati city and non-availability of any recycling plant for waste management in the city.

The State Government had apprised the High Court in August last year that groundwork had been done for setting up a waste management plant for Guwahati and had expressed the hope that it would be completed and commissioned within a year's time. On that occasion, the court had raised no objection to disposal of waste material in an area comprising 40 bighas of land near the old thermal power plant at Chandrapur.

However, the court noted in its latest directive that while waste material is no longer being dumped at Chandrapur, yet "nothing definite has been stated before this Court as regards what the State has done for construction of the waste management plant at an alternate site."

The court further stated that "no work-wise progress seems to have taken places on the said plant" despite the assurance given in August last year.

The court stated that the 45-day deadline has been given "since nothing concrete has been shown to us."

Hearing of the matter will resume on March 10.

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