KOCHI: Coming down heavily on the state government over the dumping of biomedical waste from Kerala in Tamil Nadu, the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the secretary of the local self-government department to file an affidavit with details of the agencies engaged in collection and disposal of waste from local authorities and other bulk waste generators, including hospitals.
The High Court also called for information on the measures initiated to track the mode and the manner in which such agencies dispose of the collected waste.
A division bench comprising Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice Gopinath P issued the order after noticing media reports regarding the illegal dumping of Kerala’s biomedical, plastic, food, and other waste in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
“Quite often, we have been indicating to the Kerala government the necessity to keep track of the mode in which the waste is being disposed of by agencies that collect waste. It is an alarming situation that the waste generated in Kerala is disposed of in the neighbouring state, haphazardly and contrary to legal requirements. Such instances should be avoided,” the court said.
HC demands govt to explain steps taken
When a suo motu case registered earlier concerning the waste management issue in the state came up for hearing, the court questioned whether the government was keeping track of the place where the waste was being disposed of. The government consistently claims that it is monitoring the situation. However, it appears that it does not know about the final disposal of waste, it observed.
The court stated that it wanted to identify who was at fault in the Tamil Nadu incident and demanded that the government explain the concrete steps it has taken to address the issue.
The New Indian Express had visited the spot in Tirunelveli and brought out the issue. Later, the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) initiated a suo motu case based on the report of TNIE. The NGT issued an order to the Kerala government to take appropriate action. Based on the order, the officials removed the waste using 16 Kerala-based trucks to transport it back to the state. The court will hear the matter on January 10.
