NGT Pulls Up West Bengal Government Over Delays In Solid And Liquid Waste Management

Asansol: The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Delhi has criticised the West Bengal government over alleged deficiencies in the processing and management of solid and liquid waste.

The Tribunal has issued multiple orders to the state government regarding shortcomings in waste management and processing.

Speaking to ETV Bharat about the NGT's observations, West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul blamed successive previous governments for the current situation and said the state has initiated the tendering process to expedite waste-management projects.

"For 15 years under the Trinamool Congress government and the 34 years of Left rule before that, nothing was done regarding waste processing or waste management in the state," Paul said. She added that the present government had begun working on the issue from the beginning of its tenure.

"We have been in office for only 110 days, yet we started thinking about this issue from day one. The tender process is underway, tenders are being floated and will be finalised within a few days," the minister said.

Asked whether the government had fixed responsibility on officials or urban local bodies for delays in implementing the NGT's directions, Paul said multiple agencies would be involved in the process. "Responsibility will be distributed among several agencies in this regard, as this is a massive undertaking across Bengal," she said.

The minister said contracts had been given to various agencies in the past but the work was not executed properly. She pointed to the continued presence of large garbage dumps across the state as evidence of the scale of the problem. "There are mountains of garbage and waste piled up everywhere. Therefore, we cannot rush it; the processing work must be carried out carefully and effectively," Paul said.

On the timeline for implementing the NGT's directions, Paul said that the government would complete the process within a year. She said the state had set a target of clearing all "legacy waste" by 2027, referring to accumulated garbage that has remained unprocessed for years.

Paul said large piles of accumulated waste could be seen near the Asansol’s entry points and said that was beyond conventional recycling. She said the government plans to clear such accumulated waste and ensure that newly generated waste is segregated at source into wet and dry waste.

According to the minister, the segregated waste would then be processed into products such as organic manure, biogas and plastic material that can be used in road construction.

Paul said the concept of converting waste into useful resources had not received adequate attention in West Bengal in the past. "Everyone says 'waste is wealth,' but where was this ever considered in West Bengal?" she said, adding that the state government was now working to address waste management under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

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