New Delhi/Shimla, Jul 18 The National Green Tribunal has expressed dissatisfaction over the gaps in solid and liquid waste management in Himachal Pradesh, saying the state’s compliance obligations are not merely as administrative targets, but “constitutional imperatives” of the highest order.
The green body which is monitoring compliance by states and union territories across the country regarding waste management issued a slew of directions to state government and sought another comprehensive report
In an order made available on Saturday, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad noted that the state’s chief secretary had filed a compliance report dated March 23.
It said, “The state of Himachal Pradesh occupies a special place in the environmental landscapes of India and is global biodiversity hot spots. Its rivers are the headwaters of Indo-Gangetic plains that sustain hundreds of millions of people, its forests and mountain ecosystems are among the most biodiverse, and its terrain makes the ecological impacts of environmental pollution – particularly the contamination of water course by sewage and solid waste – severe and potentially irreversible.”
The bench said the “state’s compliance obligations are to be understood not merely as administrative targets, but as constitutional imperatives of the highest order”.
It noted that the state continues to face significant deficiencies in scientific waste management and sewage treatment, posing serious risks to public health and the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
"We have examined the…progress report in context of existing gaps in solid and liquid waste management, steps taken to set up waste management facilities, timelines for establishing proposed facilities and funds allotted to each urban local bodies (ULB) but found complete absence on several points…", the bench said.
It noted the absence of several details, such as water quality data of rivers and other water bodies receiving sewage treatment plant (STP) treated water, STP sludge generation, treatment, and utilisation data, the quantum of treated sewage being reused and functioning and establishment of effluent treatment plants (ETP’s) and STP’s.
The tribunal also expressed concern over 295 waste hotspots across the state, including 28 hotspots in Shimla Municipal Corporation, observing that it reflects deficiencies in door-to-door waste collection, source segregation and public sanitation systems.
On liquid waste management, the it noted that the state generates around 159.117 million liters of sewage per day (MLD), while only 88.293 MLD is actually being treated due to which around 44.5 per cent of the sewage is discharged untreated into rivers and other natural water bodies.
The tribunal said that 20 STP’s are not complying with prescribed effluent standards and while several STPs are operating without valid statutory consent.
It further noted that more than 30 ULBs have zero household sewer connections, resulting in untreated domestic sewage flowing directly into open drains and ultimately into natural water bodies.
Nearly half of all sewage generated daily in urban areas is discharged untreated into pristine catchment areas of rivers, streams, khuds (rivulets), lakes, ponds, wetlands and agricultural land, the tribunal said.
It issued an array of directions to the state, including eliminating temporary dumping sites, preparing a comprehensive rural solid waste management plan, remediating legacy waste sites and eliminating waste hotspots.
The tribunal directed the State Pollution Control Board to identify all STPs operating without valid consent, recover outstanding environmental compensation from non-compliant facilities and initiate prosecution against persistent violators.
It directed all ULB to prepare time-bound sewer connectivity plans, promote reuse of treated wastewater, prohibit open dumping and burning of waste, strengthen source segregation establish grievance redressal systems and expand public awareness programmes.
Seeking a fresh report, the tribunal posted the matter for further proceedings on 20 January 2027.
