A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Centre, as well as the State government, to take immediate remediation steps towards reported chromium contamination at a defunct factory of Tamil Nadu Chromate and Chemicals Limited (TNCCL) in Ranipet.
A summer vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and P.B. Balaji on Wednesday ordered notices, returnable by June 10, on the petition preferred by K. Balu of Advocates Forum for Social Justice. The petitioner claimed that successive governments since 1996 failed to address the problem.
Stating that he had contested this year’s Lok Sabha election as a candidate of the PMK from the Arakkonam constituency, he said that he came to know about the contamination only during his extensive campaign in Ranipet district.
The TNCCL’s factory was established in Ranipet in 1975 to provide employment to the youth and improve the local economy. However, when complaints regarding dumping of chromium waste and consequent contamination was reported, the factory was shutdown in 1996.
‘Health hazards’
Even after 28 years, an unpleasant metallic odour continues to linger in the air in and around the factory and a foul metallic smell becomes stronger during rain. It was also causing serious health hazards to local residents whose laments fell on deaf ears, he complained.
The petitioner further said that though the Central Pollution Control Board and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had come up with a remediation plan, it wasn’t executed due to financial implications. He insisted on conducting a scientific study to arrive at a solution to the problem at the earliest.
