Plea to restrain authorities from dumping waste near highway stretch

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday sought response from the State to a public interest litigation petition complaining about waste getting dumped along the National Highways and the road margins.

The petitioner M. Saravanan of K.K. Nagar in Madurai said that waste was being dumped near Y. Othakadai junction which was adjacent to the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway. The junction had turned into a dumping yard and waste was being dumped along the stretch in violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules. It posed a threat to the residents, he said.

He sought a direction to restrain Madurai Corporation, Othakadai, Pudu Thamaraipatti, Karuppayurani and Ulaganeri panchayats from dumping waste along the stretch and ensure strict compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules.

A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and A.D. Maria Clete observed that Rule 12 of the Solid Waste Management Rules speaks about the duties of the District Collectors to facilitate the identification and allocation of land for setting up solid waste processing and disposal facilities to local authorities and review the performance of local bodies on waste segregation, processing, treatment, disposal and take corrective measures. The court directed the authorities to file a counter affidavit and adjourned the hearing in the case till January 3, 2025.

Published - December 14, 2024 09:14 pm IST