The Hindu Bureau, Chennai, December 20, 2024
The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed the Kerala government and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to remove in three days the biomedical and mixed solid waste dumped in villages of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.
The Bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati, also asked Kerala government to file a report by December 23.
On Tuesday, news reports of heaps of waste, including biomedical waste from the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, being dumped at several places in Tirunelveli had surfaced.
According to the standing counsel for Tamil Nadu, the villages where the waste were found to be dumped include Kodaganallur, Pazhavoor, Kondanagaram, and Sivaniyarkulam.
During the hearing, the counsel told the Bench that the dumping of biomedical waste from Kerala was a recurring issue, and cited previous incidents in Anamalai and Nanguneri. He noted that in Nanguneri, the Tamil Nadu government had taken steps to clear the waste, but despite directives from the Bench, the Kerala government was yet to settle the outstanding dues of ₹69,000. As a result, the Revenue Department instructed authorities in Tamil Nadu not to remove the waste this time. The counsel appearing for the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) informed the Bench that the TNPCB chairperson had written to her counterpart in Kerala requesting legal action against the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram for transporting biomedical and mixed waste; legal action against Hotel Leela for transportation of illegal waste; and an improved monitoring at border areas and coordination with the police and transport departments to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Additionally, the counsel informed that two FIRs had been filed in connection with the issue, and the State intended to file new ones, naming the responsible parties.
The counsel for the KSPCB told the Bench that based on the letter from the TNPCB, action had been initiated, and show-cause notices issued. “Once they [Tamil Nadu] respond, we will initiate criminal action as well,” the counsel said, adding that unauthorised waste-dealers who are not registered with the local self-governments could be dumping waste in Tamil Nadu.
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