The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has delivered a stern message to Bhopal’s civic machinery over mounting filth in residential colonies. In Original Application No. 56/2026, Sandeep Patel Vs State of MP & Others, the Central Zonal Bench, Bhopal, directed the Collector, Municipal Commissioner and concerned officials to ensure scientific waste disposal, functional sewage systems and complete stoppage of untreated wastewater flowing into water bodies. The case pertains to unhygienic conditions, unscientific dumping, contaminated drinking water and choked drains in several localities, including Economically Weaker Section

 

(EWS) multi-storey complexes. Petitioner’s counsels, Advocate Harsh Wardhankar and Advocate Ayush Bajpai, argued that civic failure violates citizens’ fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment under Article 21. The Tribunal ordered the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board to maintain strict vigil and initiate time-bound action on violations, Resident Welfare Associations to enforce segregation at source, and the District Committee headed by the Collector to review progress regularly. The order comes close on the heels of the new Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 coming into force from April 1, 2026, and similar NGT directions seeking action-taken reports from urban local bodies across Madhya Pradesh.