Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding disposal of sewage by lorries in Buckingham Canal, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 28/02/2020

Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Tribunal on its motion Suo Motu based on the news item in Dinamalar newspaper dated 26/02/2020, Chennai Supplementary "Sewage in Buckingham Canal; Will action be taken against lorries?' Vs The Secretry to Government of Tamil Nadu dated 28/02/2020.

The NGT, Southern Zone, Chennai on February 28, 2020 had taken up the matter of sewage water discharge into the Buckingham Canal near the Sholinganallur Zone by private lorries. The sewage was being collected from the areas of Sholinganallur Zone which includes Sholinganallur East Coast Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road area. It was said that the sewage intended to be taken to the sewage treatment plant was being discharged and disposed of in the Buckingham Canal without treatment.

The NGT directed for the constitution of a Joint Committee to look into the matter and submit a report. The Committee had to furnish the mechanism that was being adopted by the local bodies to monitor the transport of sewage and garbage and also report on any mechanism to register the tankers with them and to see whether only registered tankers were being used for transportation of sewage to the treatment plant after getting acknowledgement from the local bodies.