Nolambur is no place to dump: NGT to Chennai corporation

Chennai: In an important judgement towards protecting city waterways, the Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday has categorically refused to sanction any further extension for the Corporation of Chennai to use Nolambur, on banks of Cooum river, neither as dumping yard or even a transit site.

The green bench has ordered the civic body to directly transport the waste to Perungudi dumping yard.

The civic body had once again returned blank with regard to finding an alternative dumping site.

The NGT had provided two opportunities for the Chennai corporation to search for an alternative place for dumping solid waste. However, the civic body failed and Deputy Commissioner of corporation, Chennai had submitted before the court that it was facing difficulties in finding out an alternative site.

Even on Friday, the corporation told the court that it needed more time to search for an alternative site, the argument which the second bench comprising Justice P. Jyothimani and expert member R. Nagendran rejected.

During the recent floods, it appears that the Nolambur dumping yard itself had been washed off and the Corporation has been transferring the garbage collected in the area directly to Perungudi dumping yard.

Upon an objection from the counsel of the petitioner V. Prabhakaran, the tribunal concluded the matter by directing Corporation to continue to carry the garbage to Perungudi and made it clear that the place near the river bank should not be used. The matter was accordingly ordered and closed.

The petitioner’s counsel V. Kuberan told Deccan Chronicle that according to residents in the Nolambur area the excavators of corporation were completely marooned and only few days back the civic body was able to retrieve the machinery. Over 100 tonnes of garbage was estimated as being collected at Nolambur every day prior to the floods.