THOOTHUKUDI: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has directed Thoothukudi Block Development Officer to carry out bio-mining at a dumping site near Rajapalayam. It may be noted that the BDO was told to carry out the process since October 2021, however, the panchayat union allegedly remained a mute spectator.
According to complainant Michael Anto Geenious, the waste generated by local bodies has been dumped illegally for years on the large pit at Rajapalayam hamlet and Mapilaiyoorani panchayat, causing groundwater contamination. Though the civic body had stopped waste dumping at the site, TNPCB district environment engineer Sathiaraj (now retired) had instructed the BDO on October 16, 2021 to carry out bio mining and remove fresh wastes dumped in the area. "The local body has not initiated any action on the instructions," a district environmental engineer observed during his inspection on May 19, nearly one-and-a half years later.
During the inspection, the engineer found the water stagnated in the pit and had become pink in colour indicating the contamination of the water. Michael, who is also the resident of the Rajapalayam, told TNIE that the Thoothukudi BDO had not carried out bio mining even after repeated instructions from TNPCB. It is shameful to witness that a government body hesitates to obey the instructions of TNPCB, he added.