Justice Lokur says two-thirds of the country believes that law does not exist

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta on Tuesday (July 10) imposed fines of Rs 1  lakh each on Meghalaya, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana, Kerala, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Dadar and Nagar Haweli, Lakshwadeep, Daman and Diu and Puducherry for not filing status reports on how they have implemented the solid waste management rules that came into force two years back.

The case started with the shocking news of the parents who committed suicide after the death of their child from dengue.

The court was also told that it was shocking two-three states have not even bothered implement the rules despite repeated notices from the court.

The court also imposed fines of Rs 2 lakh each on states that failed to appear before the court today.

The court had observed earlier that: “The matter has to be taken up very seriously by all concerned not only in Delhi, but also in other parts of India because we are told by learned amicus curiae as well as by learned Additional Solicitor General that the issue of solid waste management is not confined only to Delhi, but is a problem in almost every large city in the country. It is suggested that Delhi could be a model which could be replicated in the other parts of the country, but if the authorities in Delhi themselves take no interest, we are afraid that the model will be a complete failure.”

-India Legal Bureau