MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought a report from the Kodaikanal municipality and a few others on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO, Jhatkaa Org, seeking direction to close down or shift a dumpyard situated in Seeradum Kanal village in Kodaikanal.
The managing trustee of the NGO Avijit Michael submitted that after a retaining wall, which separated the dump yard and the Tiger Sholai Reserve Forest, collapsed in 2018, the waste from the dumpyard is falling into the reserve forest, polluting its water resources and soil and endangering both the flora and the fauna of the region.
The stream in the forest, which is also contaminated by the waste, is the only source of water for the wildlife in the forest and the residents of Perumalmalai village, he added.
Blaming the Kodaikanal municipality for allegedly failing to take steps to reconstruct the retaining wall and improving solid waste management in the municipality, Michael sought a direction from the court to close or shift the dump yard.
A Bench comprising Justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha issued notice to the Union Ministry of Environment, State Environment and Forests Department, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), Kodaikanal municipality, among others, and directed the authorities concerned to file a report on the matter. The case was adjourned for two months.