CHENNAI: Describing the waste management situation at popular tourist hub Mamallapuram as alarming, the Madras High Court directed the local civic body to explain the mechanism adopted for disposal of garbage piling up over the years.The first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and D Bharatha Chakravarthy recently recorded the report of a court commissioner appointed for assessing the situation and reporting it back to the court.
Court commissioner
ND Nancy found groundwater being contaminated by waste dumped over a long period of time and a pool of stagnant water around the dumpyard, further polluting the area. The ground was contaminated beyond use and local residents were suffering from the stench emanating from the yard where waste has been piling up since 2008. The town panchayat had started composting the legacy waste but the process isn’t yet complete.
The report revealed that the dump yard is located just 160 metre away from Buckingham Canal while residential areas are 120 metre away. Waste collected from households, private hotels and resorts are being dumped in the yard.
Local residents told the commissioner that they are facing respiratory problems. Thriving mosquitoes, flies and crawling venomous snakes and rats too compound their misery. During monsoon, floodwater mixes with the garbage and chokes the Buckingham Canal, creating further inconvenience and health hazards, the report stated.
The bench said the report of the commissioner shows an alarming situation in Mamallapuram.It directed the executive officer of Mamallapuram town panchayat to justify the mechanism adopted for disposal of garbage including those generated by hotels and resorts.
The commission was appointed on a petition filed by Dhanatejha Plot Owners Association seeking orders to the town panchayat to make private hotels and resorts process their solid wastes before dumping them so as to mitigate environmental degradation.