MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the state government and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to file a report identifying the causes of pollution in the Vaigai and the proposed action plan to deal with the problem.
A special bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi sought the report on a batch of cases, including a suo motu petition filed over alarming levels of pollution in the Vaigai.
During the hearing, Additional Advocate General Veera Kathiravan admitted that there was mixing of sewage into the Vaigai. He said the focus should be on the action to be taken to resolve the issue, and assured the court that the issue has been discussed with the secretaries of water resources, municipal administration, rural development and forest departments and a comprehensive action plan would be submitted to the court by January 20, 2025.
Considering the gravity of the issue and the non-compliance of the court’s earlier orders on the issue, the judges gave the above direction.
The court had initiated suo motu proceedings by taking cognizance of news reports about a study conducted by an NGO, Madurai Nature Cultural Foundation (MNCF).
The study revealed that the quality of the river water was below D grade (fit for agricultural and industrial purpose) along the river stretch and samples collected in Madurai were ranked much lower (E grade) meaning it was suitable only for industrial use. This apart, two contempt petitions were also filed over non-compliance of earlier orders passed by the court for the protection of the river.