Legal Obligations, Judicial Enforcement, And The Right To A Clean Environment: A Doctrinal Study Of Municipal Solid Waste Management In Bengaluru
- IJLLR Journal
- Feb 28
- 1 min read
Vanishree R, Research Scholar, School of Law, Presidency University
Dr. Mohd Saleem, Associate Professor, School of Law, Presidency University
ABSTRACT
Municipal solid waste management (MSW) in Indian cities has increasingly emerged as a constitutional and human rights concern, transcending its traditional character as a municipal service. Despite the statutory framework under the solid waste management rules, 2016, persistent governance failures in Bengaluru have resulted in environmental degradation and public health risks. This article undertakes a doctrinal legal analysis of the role of judicial enforcement particularly by the Karnataka High Court in transforming MSW governance into a right- based constitutional obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The study examines recent judicial orders mandating enforcement mechanisms such as continued mandamus, technology-integrated monitoring, and penal sanctions, and evaluates their impact on administrative accountability and environmental governance outcomes. It further analyses how judicial intervention aligns municipal waste governance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 16 (Effective Institutions).
The article argues that judicial enforcement has become a crucial governance instrument to bridge the policy-implementation gap in urban environmental management. However, it also highlights the limitations of court-led reform in the absence of institutional capacity and administrative commitment. The study concludes that while judicial intervention cannot replace municipal governance, it plays a decisive role in safeguarding the fundamental right to a clean environment and strengthening the rule of law in urban sustainability.
Keywords: Solid waste, Article 21, Environmental Rights, Judicial Enforcement, Urban Governance, Bengaluru
