1. This application has been filed with a prayer to ban the use, sale, carrying or dumping of any plastic product on the Indian railways stations, railway tracks, etc., to ban open defecation by humans on and around the railway tracks and to build a mechanism in all Indian trains to prevent dumping of human waste on railway tracks and to form a task force to look after the proper disposal of plastic and human waste, already generated and dumped on the Indian railway stations, railway tracks, etc. The application was filed on 26.07.2014 and has been pending for the last more than four years.
2. Averments in the application are that huge amount of plastic waste is generated by the vendors, hawkers and catering service providers at the railway stations. Such waste is non-biodegradable in nature and not fit for dumping at landfill site because of toxic chemicals which leach out in the soil and underground water. Passengers and other visitors to the railway stations contribute to such wastes.
3. There is no mechanism for segregating the plastic waste from bio-degradable waste. As per Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, waste has to be separated into bio-degradable and nonbiodegradable. Separate bins have to be provided. Railway stations do not have such mechanism. There are incidents of open burning of plastic waste. Some such incidents are mentioned in report No. 21 of 2012-13 of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) called “Environment Management in Indian Railways”. Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) conducted a study in the year 2009 at three major railway stations in Delhi and found generation of 6758 kg of plastic waste every day. There is also generation of huge amount of human waste which is dumped on the tracks. Open defecation on the tracks leads to unhygienic conditions and spread of diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, other water-borne diseases and parasitic infections. Parasites like hookworm, tapeworm, roundworm and pinworm are spread through human waste that results in the spread of communicable diseases.
4. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) in its affidavit has simply stated that the responsibility is of the Urban Development Department of the State and the local bodies. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 provide for management of the waste disposal of the plastic.
5. The Ministry of Railway has stated that it has 64,000 km. route which has to be managed by the Railways. It has put in place preventive as well as mitigating techniques through various projects and methodologies. As per the Catering Policy, 2010, all static and mobile units have been directed to provide garbage bins, properly lined with garbage bags. Garbage has to be collected and disposed of by service provider as per the agreement. The waste material like empty casserole containers, mineral water bottles/pouches, glasses, cutlery, napkins etc. from the respective coaches after making service plastic bags is unloaded by the pantry car staff by dumping it in the nominated refuse. The Railways has developed bio-toilets where the human waste is treated by bacteria which converts human waste into water and gases namely carbon dioxide and methane. The gases escape in the atmosphere. The treated benign water is discharged after chlorination.
6. Vide order dated 18.03.2015, directions were issued for platform being cleaned and freed from any municipal solid waste in accordance with the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000 and The Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at railway premises) Rules, 2012. Effluents generated by washing and cleaning of the tracks should not seep into the ground water. Effluents must be taken into the CETPs/STPs and discharged, recycled and used for irrigation. For these purposes, fresh water or extracted groundwater should not be used. It was also noted that sum of Rs. 11.25 crores was given, in the year 2003-2004, for rehabilitation of slum dwellers to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). Out of 4410 Jhuggies (huts), only 257 have been rehabilitated. It was also noted that there are Jhuggies and residential buildings, within 2 meters from the railway tracks throwing waste on such tracks.
7. Accordingly, it was directed that dumped waste should be removed and the said operation should be videographed. Plants should be planted and grown without harming the safety of the railways. If solid waste is found near Sadar Bazar area and Sabji Mandi areas, the persons living in the area will be liable to pay Rs. 5,000/-. 46 areas were marked as MSW collection centres. Dust bins were directed to be provided to be placed at convenient locations. It was also directed mobile toilets be provided near colonies. Further direction was that the Railway Board particularly the Member (Traffic), and the Member (Technical) should prepare guidelines requiring each Railway Zone to prepare time bound action plan for their Zone, keeping in view the orders of the Tribunal and the law in force, within four weeks from the date of the order.
8. We may note that a Bench of two Hon'ble Members reserved the matter for orders on 31.05.2017 but on 31.08.2018, the matter was released and directed to be listed for rehearing.
9. Vide affidavit dated 5.12.2015 filed by the Executive Director, Civil Engineering, Environment & Housekeeping Management Railway Board, it is stated that the Indian Railways has nearly 400 major stations and 8000 other stations. Effluents are discharged in the municipal drainage system. There are 17 Railway Zones where action plan has already been prepared.
10. Effluent treatment plants are saving 12 million litres of fresh water every day. Recycled plants will be extended to all major stations. New Delhi and Narela Stations have been cleared of accumulated garbage. Plantation work has been taken up in New Delhi - Sabzimandi - Adarsh Nagar Section. The Railways find it a serious challenge to handle MSW disposal on its network spread to 66000 kms. in the country. The train operations are handled by the total of 5495 stations. The Railways operate 13000 passenger trains and 8000 good trains, handle 23 million passengers and 3 million tonnes of goods every day. They have 1.5 lakh cases of encroachments on railway-land.
11. In affidavit filed on 09.01.2015, Chief Commercial Central Zone, stated that mechanised contracts for cleanliness have been awarded for Rs. 13 crores per annum.
12. Other affidavits filed by the Respondents from time to time are by and large repetition of the earlier affidavits. They claim that all necessary steps have been duly taken for ensuring cleanliness of the Railway platforms as well as railways tracks.
13. We have heard the learned counsel appearing for the Respondents. None appeared for the applicants.
14. Learned Additional Solicitor General, appearing for the Railways fairly stated that maintaining cleanliness at the railway platforms, railway tracks and railway properties is an uphill task. It is also very difficult to tackle the situation of encroachments of the railway property by way of construction of Jhuggies etc., adding to the difficulty of maintaining cleanliness.
15. We find it difficult to accept the all claims in the Affidavit that everything has been done on the front of the cleanliness of railway tracks the railways platforms as also the railway properties, adjoining the railways tracks. We do acknowledge that it is a difficult task.
16. The situation depicted in the Performance Audit conducted by the CAG for the year ended 2011 is quite revealing. There is no doubt that the Indian Railway is the second largest carrier of passengers and freight of the country. It also carries pollution intensive commodities like coal, cement, fertilizers, petroleum etc. It is a major consumer of water and energy. Its activity has substantial impact on environment. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in its 83rd report mentioned the deficiencies on the issue of environment management in the Indian Railways.
17. The CAG undertook the comprehensive audit performance in managing the environmental risks. The CAG noticed that handling of commodities like coal, cement, iron or fertilizers in open wagons creates lot of pollution. Operation of handling of transport of such commodities requires guidelines include consent to operate from State Pollution Control Boards. The CPCB in its study, found that generally railways failed to comply with the statutory provisions at 14 major stations, studied by the CPCB. There was no system of monitoring the quality and quantity of waste water generated. There was non-compliance of instructions of installation of ETPs at major stations. Effluents were discharged to low lying areas/water bodies. There was no significant progress in implementing water conservation method. Measures taken to conserve flora and fauna are not adequate. There was no proper collection and segregation of plastic waste. About 3980 MT human waste was discharged directly on railway tracks. Comprehensive environmental guidelines for handling and transportation of bulk commodities are required. Siding and goods-sheds are required to obtain consent to operate from SPCBs. ETPs and STPs are required on all major stations. Water recycling and re-use is required on all stations where water is scarce. Automatic coach wash plants are required to be installed. Use of non-conventional energy sources is required as per Energy Conservation Policy. Animal mortality rate due to stray hits has not declined. 62 elephants died during the review period. In most of the contracts for disposal of garbage, there was no clause for segregation of garbage. Disposal was being done by burning or dumping at many places. A monitoring mechanism was required for compliance of environmental policies, including conservation of water, use of alternative source of energy, prevention of animal mortality, waste management policy, having eco-friendly toilets. Object of the solution should be proper waste disposal. Disposal of plastic waste at landfill site is unsafe. No separate Waste Management Cell exists in the organizational structure of the Indian Railways. On audit of garbage, it was noted that no central ward for disposal are available and transportation of garbage was not being covered. Quantity of garbage generated was not being assessed. No separate clause was incorporated for segregation of waste in the Agreements. Despite agreement, disposal of garbage was being done by burning or dumping. Plastic packaging was extensively used. Study conducted at three railway stations revealed pet bottles generation, food packaging, tumblers, multilayer metalized plastic, plastic carry bags and cups. These plastic wastes go to the landfill along with other municipal solid waste. Study also revealed that the plastic wastes generated from the Railway stations are not collected, segregated, transported, treated, reused and disposed properly. Use of plastic was not discouraged. Environmental friendly toilets were required to be adopted, including vacuum toilets, Controlled Discharge Toilet System (CDTS), Zero Discharge Toilets both aerobic and anaerobic.
18. The CPCB, in its conclusion observed that inadequate resources, in-appropriate technologies, management apathy and low efficiency of the system are unable to give fruitful results. The existing waste management system at railway stations has several shortcomings. Hence, the waste management system needs complete reorganization, with a clear definition of roles and responsibilities.
19. The Central Pollution Control Board noticed the following statistics:—
“Indian Railways is carrying about 6,000 million passengers every year in the country. In Delhi 522 trains are originating from the three stations under study namely Hazarat Nizamuddin, Old Delhi and New Delhi. The total number of passenger served at these stations are about 7,25,000 per day. There are 42 platforms and 146 vendors at these stations to meet the passenger's requirements. 36 trains on these stations have pantry cars. The solid waste generation at these stations is about 4 tones, 8 tones and 11.25 tones respectively. There are 460 dustbins to store waste at stations.
The quantity of plastic waste generation at Hazarat Nizamudding station is 972 kg, at Old Delhi station is 1428 kg and at New Delhi station is 4358 kg. Out of total quantity the value added plastic is 119 kg, 337 kg and 1508 kg respectively. The per capita plastic waste generation at H. Nizamuddin, Old Delhi and New Delhi is 7.8 gm, 9.5 gm and 9.7 gm respectively.
The plastics waste has been collected by both formal and informal system but an informal system (rag-pickers) is also collecting illegally the value added plastic waste i.e, water bottles and soft drink bottles. However, plastic carry bags and multi-layered metalized plastic pouches are not collected by them.
No separate dustbins for biodegradable and recyclable waste have been provided, therefore, non-value added plastic waste like packaging materials and multilayered metalized plastics finds their way to landfill along with garbage without getting segregated at any point upto disposal.
The percentage of plastic in solid waste is ranging between 20 % - 30 % with respective locations as compared to 5-9 % in Municipal Solid Waste, in general. This variation in percentage is due to present social culture of the people and increasing use of plastic packaging products at stations.
The value added plastics (water and soft drink bottles) collected by informal sector and being recycled in PET recycling units. At recycle unit, plastic bottles are shredded, melted in reactors at 260o C and baled into the final product. The final products in the form of fibers are going by carpet manufacturers.
The various technological options reuse/recycle/disposal of plastics waste are reviewed and most environment friendly and economical viable disposal processes are suggested. The existing laws, legislations and standards prescribed only for the segregation and processing.”
20. Thereafter, following recommendations were made:—
“1) The entry of rag-pickers at railway stations shall be restricted, however, they can be included in the main stream of waste management system as per norms of railway authorities. The waste collection, segregation, transport and disposal shall be privatized to some specialized agency.
2) Separate dustbins system should be adopted for biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste. Railways may keep vigil on waste generating/managing organizations and consider penalties for plastic littering.
3) Plastic recycling industry is needed to upgrade the technology for better products and the products should be labelled with the plastic identification code to help in sorting and collection as per IS 14535: 1998.
4) Reuse of plastic as in cement kilns and utilization in road construction could be the best option, as it is free from pollution and mixed plastic waste can be processed easily.
5) Massive public awareness programs with the help of NGO's will have to be launched on war footing against littering, segregation and disposal of plastic waste.
6) There is need to use biodegradable plastic bags in place of plastic bags, thus. Use of plastics products can be reduced.
7) An independent Waste Management Cell (WMC) could be set-up to look-after solid and plastic waste management.”
21. We may note that the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2010 have since been replaced by Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. This Tribunal has dealt with the issue of implementation of the said rules, inter-alia, vide judgment dated 20.08.2018 in Original Application No. 606 of 2018. Directions, to the extent relevant for the present case, have to be equally applied to the present case also.
22. In view of above, we find that there is an urgent need for the Railway Administration to put in place an effective implementation and monitoring mechanism with provisions of fixing of accountability of notified individuals at Railway Station level, Divisional level and Zonal level in respect of railway tracks, railway stations and the properties along at railway tracks especially w.r.t solid waste disposal, littering of solid and plastic wastes, defecation along the railway tracks, removal of encroachments etc. We are informed that railway property along the railway tracks may extend from 15 to 100 meters. Being the owner of the said property, the Railway must own responsibility for compliance to Solid Waste Management and Plastic Waste Management Rules.
23. Atleast three persons must be identified and declared to be the accountable persons at every important Railway Station as well as at Divisional and Zone levels. This will be in addition to the existing hierarchy. Adequate provisions in the budget must also be made. A person or a team responsible for implementation for removal of encroachments must be identified at every level.
24. Enabling provisions are available under the Railways Act itself for constitution of such mechanism. Immediate steps be taken for displaying the do's and don'ts for passengers in all railway compartments. Details of 24 hour helpline and Indian Railway Twitter handle shall also be conspiously displayed in all train compartments. Along-with this, fine and penalty to be imposed on passenger for littering in the trains, railway tracks and the railway platforms etc. shall also be displayed. Steps be taken for removal of graffiti inside as well as outside the train and on the railways stations within 24 hours of their being made or displayed. All railway franchise holders are required to operate retention tanks which are to be emptied in only at the designated rail depots. Measures be also taken for rodents and pest control and management inside the trains as well as at the railway platforms and stations. It may be noted that education, training drills and capacity building of railway station staff be carried out at regular intervals.
25. Updated action plans at all levels as indicated in Para-22 needs to be framed on or before 30.11.2018 The same may also be notified on the websites of the Indian Railways for soliciting comments of general public. For preparing such action plans, the Railway Board must call a meeting of all General Managers within four weeks. Such meeting may be called by Video conference, if physical appearance of such persons who have to come from outside is not considered necessary. In such meeting, concerned Experts may be invited as special invitees. The hierarchy of the accountable persons, should be clearly given in the action plan. Timelines for monitoring at different levels and implementation of the steps planned should be spelled out. The budgetary provisions should also be clearly indicated. The review of the implementation of the action plan so finalised be held on or before 31.03.2019 If necessary, in such review meeting, the action plan may be further revised.
26. The Performance Audit should be conducted from the CAG at regular intervals and first such Performance Audit may be got conducted on or before 30.06.2019 which should explicitly demonstrate/illustrate the improvements/deterioration in terms of the environment management in areas of solid waste, plastic waste, defecation along railway track, encroachments, waste water/sewage treatment water recycling and reuse, energy efficiency etc. A copy of the Performance Audit may be placed for the record of this Tribunal by email at filing.ngt@gmail.com. The mechanism be devised whereby deficiencies as pointed out in Performance Audit are removed/rectified in a time bound manner.
27. The Indian Railways shall strictly follow the “Swachh Railway Schemes - Standard Operating Procedures” and submit action taken report to Tribunal in this regard.
28. The Railway administration shall constitute a Special Task Force for removal of encroachments and squatters from railway lands/premises and also undertake landscaping of such vacated land parcels especially within city precincts by way of creation of bio-diversity parks, planting of ornamental plants, fountains etc. This Special Task Force shall submit its quarterly Action Taken Report to the Tribunal from time to time. The Railway administration shall also plan afforestation and plantation along such land parcels in country side area with the help of Forest Departments of respective State Governments.
29. The minutes of the meeting to be held within four weeks as directed above and the meeting in which the action plan is revised and finalised on or before 30.11.2018 should also be sent to the Tribunal by e-mail before 31.12.2018 Thereafter on or before 31.03.2019, the finalised action plans may also be filed before this Tribunal by way of an Affidavit of Chief Commercial Manager, Headquarters of the Indian Railways.
30. We have recorded the statement of learned counsel for the DUSIB that the amount given by the Railways will be credited to the account of Railways, with accrued interest, within one month.
31. This Application stands disposed of.
32. List for consideration of the compliance Affidavit on 21.01.2019