Local residents living in the vicinity of the Theetukkal dumpyard have complained that the Udhagamandalam Municipality (UMC) had failed to implement the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in preventing leachate seeping into agriculture fields.
According to local residents, the dumpyard sprawls around 15 acre outside of Udhagamandalam town, and in 2018, the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal passed orders directing the municipality to ensure that “neither Municipal Solid Waste nor any leachate” should be allowed to drain into any natural drains or water bodies in the area surrounding the dumpyard.
At the time, it was noted that the dumpyard has legacy waste amounting to 1.34 lakh tonnes. Over the years, the dumpyard has also attracted wild animals, but these instances have reduced over the years due to the construction of a compound wall around the area, local residents state.
However, stench from the yard continues to draw animals towards agricultural fields, leading to crop loss, said a resident of Theetukkal.
P. Radhakrishnan, a petitioner who raised the issue of the dumpyard in Theetukkal, said that he has documented leachate from the yard coagulating at the sides of the dumpyard, bordering agricultural fields this year. “I have tried to raise the issue with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which should be collecting regular samples from the leachate collection tank, and also overseeing how the garbage is processed,” said Mr. Radhakrishnan, adding that directions to remove legacy waste at the yard through bio-mining is also not taking place.
“There were also promises to stop open dumping of the waste collected from Udhagamandalam. However, almost none of the waste is processed adequately,” said Mr. Radhakrishnan, who has around 7.5 acres adjacent to the dumpyard. “There are around 50 families that live around the Theetukkal dumpyard, and all of them are at risk of the effects of living so close to the dump,” he said.
Local residents said that the municipality should consider moving the dump yard away from the hills, and to transport waste from the town to the surrounding districts of Coimbatore or Erode, where waste can be better managed. “If not, they should buy the agricultural lands surrounding the dumpyard at market value. These lands could serve as a buffer area between the dump and settlements,” they said.
When contacted, Commissioner of Udhagamandalam Municipality P.Egaraj disputed claims that bio-mining was not being conducted at the facility. He said that due to rain, bio-mining legacy waste had been stopped temporarily for the last two weeks, but added that there was no open dumping of waste at the municipal dump yard. “We have already brought in machinery to properly dispose the waste,” he said.
Meanwhile, another official from the UMC said that the rain was leading to more of a stench emanating from the yard, leading residents to complain about the yard.
