CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal on Thursday directed the Kerala government and its pollution control board to remove the biomedical waste and mixed solid waste illegally dumped at multiple points bordering Tirunelveli district within three days and file a compliance report on December 23. The NGT passed the order on a suo motu case hearing based on a TNIE report.
Hazardous biomedical waste is being frequently dumped from Kerala into Tamil Nadu. Truckloads of waste are allegedly being clandestinely disposed of in pristine forests and farmlands in Tamil Nadu in the middle of the night by miscreants from Kerala.
Earlier, dumping was reported from Anamalai, Theni and Nanguneri. Now, waste dumps were spotted in Kodaganallur, Palavoor, Kondanagaram and Sivalarkulam—all in Tirunelveli. The biomedical waste was from the Regional Cancer Centre and Credence Private Hospital, while municipal waste was from Leela Kovalam.
‘Kerala hasn’t complied with earlier order to pay fine’
The NGT has issued notices to all three establishments, apart from environment and health departments of both states for failing to curb the illegality.
The green bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal said Kerala should either take back the waste or enter into an MoU with a Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility in Tamil Nadu for safe disposal. “The waste dumped must be removed immediately,” the bench said, setting a deadline of three days to act.
Tamil Nadu government pleader D Shanmuganathan said the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) did not comply with the tribunal’s earlier order in June this year, where it was asked to pay Rs 69,000 incurred by the local body to remove the waste dumped on the roadside of Nanguneri.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) officials told TNIE that a detailed assessment was being done to estimate the quantum of biomedical waste dumped. TNPCB counsel Sai Sathya Jith said the chairperson of TNPCB wrote to the chairperson of KSPCB on December 18, demanding legal action against RCC and others, besides beefing up monitoring along the borders. Two FIRs were registered by the Suthamalli police against the establishments under Sections 271 and 272 of the BNS, Section 15 (1) of the Environment Protection Act, and Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act.
VK Rema Smrithi, counsel for KSPCB, accepted that the waste dumped was from Kerala, and she said criminal proceedings would be initiated against those responsible. “I am told some unauthorised waste collectors, who are not recognised by the state government, were indulging in this illegality.”
Activists told TNIE police and transport departments of Kerala and TN need to be blamed. “There is only a narrow Sengottai road connecting both the states, where the dumping took place. If that one inter-state check-post is strengthened, the problem can be solved.”
Improper disposal of biomedical waste can have adverse effects on human health and the environment. It is highly infectious and must be managed as per BMW Management Rules.