The State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given a poor rating for the management of solid waste by a large number of local bodies in Kerala.
“The date on solid waste management collected from various local bodies in the State reveals that certain local bodies have made considerable achievement in the field while a large number of local bodies have registered a poor performance,” pointed out the supplementary report submitted by A.V. Ramakrishna Pillai, SLMC chairman, before the NGT’s Principal Bench, New Delhi.
It is distressing to note that directions given to the District Level Monitoring Committees to conduct periodical trainings as well as the direction to the District Collectors/District Magistrates to prepare District Environment Plans have gone into deaf ears. The District Collectors who are also the District Magistrates can play a pivotal role in the matter. Therefore they are to be awakened from their present lethargy by strict directions from this tribunal, it said.
On a resignation
The report also referred to the resignation of Ajit Haridas, former chairman of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, after the government issued a show cause notice to him for giving notices to various local bodies under Section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986 for violation of Solid Waste Management Rules.
Here it is crucial to note that no specific permission of the State government or any authority under it is required for issuing notice under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act against any local body for violation of its provisions. The powers vested with the Union government under Sec. 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, is delegated to the Chairpersons of the State Pollution Control Boards through a Union government notification S.C.327(E) dated April 10, 2001. The board members cannot sit in appeal over the actions taken by the chairperson in exercise of his statutory powers, it said.
