Taking notice of a news report published in The Hindu which highlighted the illegal dumping of cement waste into Adyar river, the National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench on Monday granted interim injunction against anyone dumping waste cement/ other waste materials at any point in the course of the river.
The Bench, comprising judicial member Justice M.Chockalingam and expert member R.Nagendran, also said: “The newspaper has published detailed photographs which may be indicative of the pollution caused to the river.” It also said that “the Tribunal is satisfied that the news report can be taken cognizance for suo motu action against the illegal dumping” in the Adyar river.
It also ordered notice to the authorities including Secretary of Environment and Forests, Member Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Public Works Department to file a report to the Tribunal on September 20.
The news item was published in The Hindu on September 11 under the caption “Adyar River Turns Dump Yard”. The report described how the river was turning into a dump site for the cement waste. It also highlighted that tanker drivers from neighbouring areas such as Thiruneermalai and Thirumudivakkam were dumping the cement waste in the early hours.
The report also said that construction activity of apartment complexes and factories was at fast pace around the Thirumudivakkam Industrial Estate, Thiruneermalai and Kunrathur where ready mix cements were being used in large quantities to meet the requirements of the construction sector, generating huge amount of waste cement.
