The Supreme Court was on Friday informed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which said by 2026 it will exceed its capacity of processing 11,000 tonnes of solid waste generated daily in the national capital.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was informed by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the MCD that in compliance of the court's order, the civic body was able to clear all the bottlenecks and had started the bidding process for hiring contractors for the management of municipal solid waste.

"By 2026, we will not only be able to meet the new waste generated on a daily basis but also be ahead of it by 3,000 tonnes a day. We have started the tender process and in the next two weeks, we will be able to finalise the bids for the purpose," she submitted.

 Guruswamy further said that due to the July 26 order of the apex court, the MCD was able to get all necessary clearances and the work had now started.

"The Delhi government has set the limit under which the municipal commissioner can execute the contracts for solid waste management. The proposal was cleared from the office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor and the process has begun. It is a big achievement for the national capital, as the proposal was stuck for decades," she submitted.  The top court asked Guruswamy to file an affidavit enlisting the steps the civic body took following its July 26 order and scheduled the next hearing on November 25.

 On July 26, the top court expressed its concern over the poor implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules in the national capital, observing over 3,000 tonnes of untreated solid waste per day in Delhi could lead to a "public health emergency".

 The Supreme Court slammed the MCD over the "sorry state of affairs" and said that the national capital generated over 11,000 tonnes of solid waste per day whereas the daily capacity of processing plants was only 8,073 tonnes. Referring to MCD's affidavit, the top court noted there was not even a possibility of creating treatment facilities till 2027 to deal with the 11,000 tonnes of waste generated daily.

 The Court had directed the secretary of the Union Environment Ministry to convene a meeting of officials of the MCD and the Delhi government for working out an immediate solution to the issue. It had asked the secretary to submit a report about immediate measures that could be taken to ensure non-compliance with the 2016 Rules did not create a serious emergency in Delhi. The top court had noted the MCD approached the Delhi government to delegate financial power to the corporation to approve the rates and agency contracts beyond Rs 5 crore relating to solid waste management projects.

 It had thereafter directed the Delhi government to immediately consider the July 10 proposal, which is limited to solid waste management projects, and take appropriate decisions within three weeks.