Hyderabad: Garbage dumps have turned into legal battlegrounds with citizens approaching the court to move them away from their homes.
Beverly Palm Villas, at Nizampet panchayat, moved court to seek relief from the constant dumping of garbage into a vacant piece of government-owned land next to the complex. “The contractors who collect waste from the households found the land parcel and started dumping waste there, turning it into a dump land”, said colony resident Krishna Rao. They repeatedly approached the gram panchayat for relief, and went to the court when no relief was forthcoming and the area was cleared, says Vikram Chandra, a resident.
The dumpyard has been shifted 2 km away, near Hill County Apartments. “We have to now look for legal options. We are in the final stages of deciding whether to move the NGT or file a civil case,” said Hill Country resident P. Nand Kishore.
But advocates say writ petitions may be a last resort but also possibly a futile one. “The authorities against whom we filed the case are yet to file the counter affidavit with their explanations. Without this the court won’t even hear the case,” explained advocate Chandra.
He added that such a case will get another date for the hearing but again without a counter affidavit, it may never come up before the court at all as the judiciary is burdened with pending cases that have counter-affidavits filed.
Other panchayats clustered around the GHMC area face similar problems. “How many times will people file cases? Isn't it better if the executive wing did their job and applied the law against such illegal activities,” asked Mr Sitaram Dass, president of the Federation Of All Colonies Residents Welfare Association.
