Clogging of waterways due to plastics and other wastes, one of the reasons for flooding in Chennai, say Madras High Court judges

Madras HC expresses displeasure over poor implementation of waste segregation at source in GCC limits; notes clogging of waterways due to plastics & other wastes was one of reasons for flooding. Judges said only reports being filed in court on plastic eradication with nothing much happening on ground. MD of TN Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation said collection boxes to be placed at parlours for safe disposal of empty packets & local bodies to segregate plastic not reaching parlours. GCC Commissioner asked to join hearing virtually on Friday.

Justices S. Vaidyanathan and P.T. Asha of the Madras High Court on Monday expressed displeasure over poor implementation of waste segregation at source in Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits. They said clogging of waterways due to plastics and other wastes was also one of the reasons for flooding during the recent rains in the city due to Cyclone Michaung.

While hearing a revision petition related to the ban on single use plastics in the State, the judges said segregation of biodegradable and non biodegradable waste at source was not being implemented properly. They also stated that there appeared to be a lack of will for a coordinated action between different departments to put an end to the plastic menace.

The observations were made in the presence of Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu; Industries Secretary V. Arun Roy; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department Secretary Archana Patnaik and a host of other officials who had joined the hearing virtually. The judges said only reports after reports were being filed in the court on plastic eradication with nothing much happening on the ground.

“If one report has 15 paragraphs, the next report reproduces the same thing with one additional paragraph. And this is happening hearing after hearing,” Justice Asha lamented. Since GCC Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan would be the right person to address the court on waste segregation in the city, the judges asked him too to join the hearing virtually on Friday along with the other officials.

Earlier, when the judges wanted to know the result of a survey conducted by Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited with respect to the willingness of consumers to purchase Aavin milk in glass bottles instead of plastic packets, the federation’s Managing Director S. Vineeth told the court that there was a mixed response from the consumers for such a proposal.

When Justice Asha wanted to know if Aavin management had any plan to collect the empty plastic packets back from the consumers for ensuring safe dispoal, the MD said soon collection boxes would placed at all Aavin parlours and that consumers could drop the empty packets in those boxes. The collected plastics would be handed over to certified plastic recycling plants, he added.

On being asked what would happen to the plastic packets that do not reach the Aavin parlours, the MD said they would get segregated by the local bodies. It was then, the two judges said such segregation was not happening even inside the High Court premises and asked the GCC Commissioner too to be present during the next hearing of the case, through video conference, on Friday.