CHENNAI: Criticising the Madurai corporation for failing to comply with its directions to clear the waste accumulated in and around the Smart Fruit Market in KK Nagar, near Mattuthavani, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday imposed Rs 50,000 cost on the corporation, payable to the High Court Legal Services Authority by October 28.
A bench comprising justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan further directed the civic body to remove all waste from the market and the surrounding areas forthwith and submit a report along with photographs to the court by the next hearing on October 28.
The judges gave the directions while hearing a PIL filed by an advocate, S Krishnakumar, who sought the installation of a sufficient number of dustbins in the market.
During the previous hearing, the judges had perused the photographs submitted by the petitioner and observed that the market was in a terrible mess with scattered fruit and vegetable wastes and stagnant water.
They directed the corporation to ensure there were sufficient dustbins in the market and to take action to address the petitioner’s grievances. However, the corporation had reportedly submitted photographs of officials standing near dustbins without anything to show that the waste and stagnant water had been cleared.
The civic body’s response was ‘disappointing’, the judges observed. Particularly, as the rains have set in, it is incumbent on the corporation authorities to ensure that the waste in the surrounding areas of the market which is frequented by the public is kept clean, they added.
“If any garbage is dumped in a public area, it is for the corporation to ensure it is removed and the area is kept clean. It is not in order for this court to be monitoring the management of public places in a hygienic manner. The very purpose of section 177 (Removal of Garbage) of Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 is wasted on the authorities if they do not implement the directives given there,” the judges said.
It is necessary that initiatives are taken to sensitise the public and to instill civic sense in them by conducting inspections, imposing spot fines, among others, they added.
Krishnakumar stated there were around 300 shops in the market. Despite being a part of the Smart City initiative, the market is grappling with severe waste management problems and vendors are throwing the wastes outside the market premises due to absence of an effective waste disposal system, he alleged. Besides affecting sanitation, this also attracts stray cattle, which in turn disrupts the flow of traffic and creates risk of accidents, he added.
