Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has been directed to file a criminal case against apartment complexes at Padur near Muttukadu backwaters for environmental violations, the Chengalpattu district collector recently told the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Meiyappan, a local resident, had filed a case with the tribunal regarding tankers dumping of solid waste and sewage into the backwater estuaries. He had submitted photos showing garbage being burnt at the ecologically sensitive zone. Hence, a joint committee was constituted to look into the issue.
With several high-rise buildings having come up in the past decade, Padur’s population has increased almost tenfold. But the area has neither a common sewage treatment plant (STP) nor a proper solid waste disposal plan, the panel found out.
As a result, the village panchayat was dumping the waste generated into the backwaters and a graveyard in the locality. As per government estimates, around 100 metric tonnes of waste is accumulated at these locations. Hence, the district collector in August 2022 was told to identify a suitable site for treatment of solid waste with bio-mining and bio-composting facilities.
Though the local block development officer in December 2022 told the NGT that around 80% of the accumulated waste was shifted to a dumpyard in Kattankulathur, the tribunal observed that their report was silent on how waste in the locality was being handled currently. So, the TNPCB was directed to revisit the site and submit a report.
During its subsequent inspection, the TNPCB noted that a few apartments operated STPs but without their consent, and authorities caught tankers still dumping sewage into water bodies. While steps are taken to file criminal cases under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act against all offenders, the apartment owners were asked to pay 81.9 lakh as compensation for causing damage to the environment.
Subsequently, Padur panchayat authorities held a meeting with apartment owners, occupants and residents’ welfare associations and sought their support to prevent illegal disposal of waste by creating a register of all tankers which collect sewage from their individual septic tanks.
