TNPCB fines Vellore corpn Rs 88 lakh for dumping waste in Palar

VELLORE: The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has fined the Vellore Corporation a whopping Rs 88 lakh for dumping waste in the Palar.

Though the corporation prided itself on its solid waste management practices and invited officials from other states to witness its success, winning many accolades, activists had for a long time raised the issue of the local body polluting the Palar with garbage collected from various parts of the town. The corporation collects around 250 tonnes of garbage daily.

Students from a nearby private university had recorded garbage dumping in the Palar in the past. Whenever the issue of garbage dumping was brought up, officials would act to clear up a specific spot while dumping continued elsewhere, sources pointed out. This has resulted in the corporation getting a hefty fine for the violations, they said.

Residents say that the corporation’s deeds go unnoticed during summer when the riverbed turns dry. The problems come to the fore during the monsoons when heavy flows lead to foul-smelling garbage floating on the river and blocking the causeways from Sathuvachary to Kangeyanallur on the Katpadi side.

Despite sending off biodegradable waste, converted into fertilizer, to farmers and plastic-segregated waste sent to cement units in the Ariyalur district, dumping in Palar continues to haunt Vellore Corporation.

Responding to the issue commissioner Janaki Ravindran said, “we have sought a year to clear up the garbage which will mean that we do not have to pay the fine, as of now.” But activists have their fingers crossed on what the corporation is going to do with the garbage and how the cash-strapped local body is going to manage the issue, including the burden of paying a hefty fine in case of failure.