Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of The State of Uttarakhand & Others Vs Ram Shankar & Others dated 29/11/2019 regarding shifting of a solid waste dumping site away from the riverbed of Ganga, Munikriti, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

The SC directed the state of Uttarakhand to comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and shift the solid waste site from Munikriti to the proposed site at Lalpani Block I, Rishikesh on an expeditious basis. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General informed the court that the shifting of the solid waste management site suggested by the inspection team involves felling of only forty trees.

The state has been directed to compensate the uprooting of trees at the proposed site by planting trees as per the norms of compulsory afforestation. Steps shall also be taken by the state to comply with the 2016 Rules for closure and removal of the said waste dumps at the present site to ensure that the existing solid waste dumps do not contaminate the flowing river.