HC directs govt to take measures to prevent dumping of medical waste

MADURAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Friday directed the state government to take adequate measures to prevent other states bordering Tamil Nadu from dumping medical wastes.

In a public interest litigation petition filed by S. Chidambaram of Tenkasi in 2018, the petitioner stated that medical wastes from neighbouring Kerala were being continuously dumped in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi district.

The counsel on behalf of Chief Secretary in a status report said bordering districts including Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar’ Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in the state of Tamil Nadu are being monitored.

At check posts, the services of ex-serviceman and self-help groups were utilized and they were checking entry of banned ‘Single Use Plastic’ items into the districts and they also checking any entry of illegal waste including bio-medical waste.

Apart from the above, the Police and Forest Department officials were also checking vehicles along the border check post of Nilgiris district. In the recent past, no such incident of illegal biomedical waste transported from Kerala is reported.

Further, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is monitoring and ensuring that the biomedical waste generated is disposed through authorized common treatment facilities only.

Tirunelveli District Environment Engineer also addressed the Tenkasi Superintendent of Police to take suitable action at the Puliyarai check post (Shencottai border) to have a vigil check on the lorries transporting material from Kerala and also to Block Development Officer (BDO), Alangulam Panchayat Union and Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Tenkasi to take suitable action against the illegal transport of solid waste from Kerala to Tamil Nadu.

There are 15 entry points along Kerala border in Kanyakumari district and Close Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras installed at Kaliyakkavilai, Kozhivilai, Kakkavilai (Mudipurai), Choozhal, Panachamoodu and Netta. Further installation of CCTV cameras in other entry points is under progress. Surprise and periodical vehicle check-up was being carried out by the officials of Revenue Department, Geology and Mines, Commercial Tax.

Department and Regional Transport officer. The Kanyakumari Collector informed that there is no dumping of municipal waste, fish waste and bio medical waste at Kerala borders in Kanyakumari district.

After the emergence of Tenkasi district from the integrated Tirunelveli district on November 22, 2019, a special Monitoring committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Collector, with the Deputy Director of Health, Police, Transport, Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Revenue Department for monitoring the prevention of dumping of the above wastes in the state border areas in Tenkasi district.

Moreover, police personnel have also been deployed on rotation basis at the Tamil Nadu state border check posts in Puliyarai and Mekarai in Tenkasi district and all the vehicles passing through the check posts are being systematically censored. Besides, nine charge sheets were filed by the police department against the violators for bringing the medical waste, chemical waste, livestock waste, poultry waste, electronic waste, plastic waste from Kerala to the border areas of Tenkasi district.

Forty-five petty cases were registered in Puliyarai and llattur police stations in the border area and a fine of Rs 2.28 lakh has been imposed by the Police department and vehicles carrying wastes from Kerala to the Tamil Nadu are being sent back to Kerala, the counsel said.

A division bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan after hearing directed the state government to take more stringent measures to prevent dumping of medical wastes and adjourned the case for two weeks.