The State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on Solid Waste Management on Wednesday submitted a report before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), recommending the formation of an independent committee to monitor the pollution of Periyar River in Kerala.
The report, submitted by A. V. Ramakrishna Pillai, chairman of the SLMC, recommends that the committee reports directly to the tribunal and have powers to inspect industrial units and other establishments on the banks of the river. It has been submitted before the Southern Bench of the NGT in the case related to the indiscriminate pollution of the longest river in Kerala.
The proposal to have an independent committee was made after the SLMC observed that the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and other government departments concerned have failed to take strong action in curbing the activities resulting in the pollution of the river.
“They are either afraid of someone or are guided by some other considerations. Even if action is initiated in some cases at the insistence of the public or media, the same would be namesake by sending some notice and without taking any follow up action thereafter,” said the report.
The framework of the proposed independent committee comprises of a chairman and five other members. The chairman can be an engineer or scientist outside KSPCB, qualified in Environmental Engineering and having sufficient experience in the field of environment. The committee may be vested with powers to inspect any industry, hotel, high-rise building, healthcare institution and other establishments on the banks of the river and to collect data necessary for the evaluation from such institutions, it said.
The SLMC chairman, who had inspected certain industrial units in Eloor in Kochi, expressed doubts about the illegal discharge of industrial waste through underground outlets directed into the river. He suggested a scientific investigation to ascertain the presence of such unauthorised outlets.
The report urged the tribunal to issue stringent directives to the the nearly 84 local bodies located on the banks of the river to close down any industry or establishment found polluting the rivers in violation of the rules prescribed. The civic bodies have to install CCTV within its jurisdiction to step up surveillance, it said.
The committee has also urged the tribunal to ask KSPCB to recover compensation for environmental degradation from industries or other establishments responsible for the violation of environmental rules.
