The High Court on Thursday called for putting in place a mechanism to ensure that different companies, whose products lead to pollution at the ski resort of Gulmarg, contribute towards waste management.
While hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking topreserve environment of Gulmarg, a division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittaland Justice Rashid Ali Dar directed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) GulmargDevelopment Authority (GDA) Hanief Balki to identify and call upon the companiescontributing towards pollution for evolving the mechanism.
The Court said the CEO may join the Secretary of theDistrict State Legal Services Authority in the conceptualization of theprogramme as well as its subsequent implementation.
The direction came after the CEO informed the Court that alarge percentage of solid waste generated at Gulmarg was wrappers andcontainers of junk foods, biscuits, snacks and soft drink cans, manufactured bymultinational companies.
These wrappers as well as containers, Balki said, were madefrom non-biodegradable material including metal, aluminum foil andplastics. “The other large component ofsolid waste generated is plastic waste that comes from the plastic bottles usedto market water and soft drinks,” Balki told the Court. “These products aremanufactured by large companies including multi-national companies,” hesaid. Following these submissions,the Court sought to devise a mechanism so that the companies could contributetowards waste management.
Keeping in view the well-established principle ofenvironmental jurisprudence “the polluter pays” principle for the cost of theenvironmental degradation, the Court observed, adding it sees no reason why thecompanies would not contribute to the waste management. “We see no reason as to why the manufacturersof these items which are packed in polluting material do not contribute to thereduction of the solid wastes in the health resort as well as the management ofthe solid waste, which is generated,” the bench said.
For this purpose, the Court held that there was no reason asto why all these companies should not be called upon to utilize the statutorymandated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), allocations towards reductionof pollution which is being generated in Kashmir because of their activity.
Meanwhile, the Court directed the GDA to place before it the”Disability Audit”, of the area before August 14, the next date ofhearing.