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Report filed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on illegal dumping of waste from Kerala in Tamil Nadu, 31/10/2022

  • 31/10/2022

Report filed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in the matter of Tribunal on its own motion SUO MOTU Based on the News Item in the Hindu Newspaper, Chennai edition dated 09.04.2021, “Dumping of garbage foiled near Anamalai, trucks seized” dated 31/10/2022.

The NGT, May 23, 2022 had directed that the dumping of biomedical waste and the municipal waste has to be stopped immediately. The TNPCB convened a meeting, July 20, 2022 with the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMRHS), Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH&PM) of Tamil Nadu and Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu and discussed on the practicability and feasibility for developing a continuous online monitoring system to monitor the total input of raw materials procured, produced and how it is being used and disposed of by the health care facilities.

In the meeting, it was concluded that the online continuous monitoring system to monitor the total input of raw material procured, produced and being disposed of from each health care facility (HCF) "is not practicable and feasible as it is nearly impossible to monitor the same for HFCs as like industrial activity."

The TNPCB vide letter, August 27, 2022 has asked the Commissioner, Transport Department and the Director General of Police, Chennai to ensure implementation of proper GPS tracking system for the trucks and smaller vehicles crossing the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu for proper monitoring and to furnish the action taken report.

The TNPCB has requested the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to furnish action taken report on the following issues:

  • The KSPCB shall assess the generation of bio-medical waste from each HCF and CBMWWFs capacity to find out the gaps between the generation, treatment and disposal of BMW
  • The KSPCB should ensure implementation of the bar coding system for liner bags in all the HCFs so as to track and avoid the indiscriminate disposal of the same
  • The KSPCB should identify the violators and take stringent action so as to avoid illegal dumping in future
  • The KSPCB should ensure the implementation of GPS tracking system for the trucks and smaller vehicles crossing the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu for proper monitoring by the Kerala State Transport Department.