Comply with waste management rules or face power, water supply cut: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that waste generators who fail to comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, may face temporary disconnection of power or water supply until they provide a compliance certificate. The court instructed a monitoring committee to identify bulk waste generators within their jurisdictions and inform them of the consequences of non-compliance.

District Collectors are tasked with identifying all such generators within their areas, in collaboration with local bodies. Local bodies must communicate with these generators, outlining their obligations of waste segregation, storage, and handover, as well as the consequences of non-compliance, which include temporary disconnection of utilities, which can be restored by submitting a compliance certificate.

The court also emphasized the importance of educating students and teachers to play a role in enforcing the rules and conducting periodic audits by District Education Departments.