As many as 13 apartment complexes in Padur, near Muttukadu backwaters, have been instructed to install bulk bio composters for solid waste management. In a case filed with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), it was alleged that the high-rises had been dumping garbage into the backwaters and graveyard of the village panchayat.
As per a report filed by the Chengalpattu Collector before the NGT on April 27, the Padur panchayat has begun removing waste dumped into the village’s graveyard and shifting it to the Kolathur dumpyard.
After receiving the NGT’s orders, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) issued show cause notices to the apartments in December 2022. While the high-rises have started complying with the conditions in a phased manner, the tribunal noted that the TNPCB was silent about the waste handling in Padur. “Even after the passage of three months, a follow-up report has not been filed regarding the action taken and the outcome of the proceedings. So, we direct the TNPCB to file yet another report pursuant to the show cause notices issued by them,” it said.
The tribunal further asked the Collector to come up with an action plan to handle waste in Padur. Subsequently, the panchayat administration convened a meeting with apartment residents’ welfare associations and local authorities, where it was insisted that the high-rises register the tankers that remove untreated sewage water.
The panchayat plans to take steps such as providing separate bins for wet and dry waste to begin source segregation in households, procuring three push carts and one e-cart for waste collection, employing three sanitary workers and constructing a micro-composting centre and a plastic management unit.
