NGT’s Chennai bench directs MCC to ensure 100 pc door-door segregation of waste

The National Green Tribunal’s Chennai Bench directed Mancherial municipal corporation to ensure 100 per cent door-to-door waste segregation and scientifically manage the DRCC at Andalamma Colony. It also ordered measures including bio-mining, composting, inspections and action against violations

Mancherial: The National Green Tribunal, Chennai Bench, issued an order directing Mancherial municipal corporation (MCC) to ensure 100 per cent door-to-door segregation of waste and to convert a dry resource collection centre (DRCC)-Andalamma Colony into a scientifically managed facility.

The NGT’s Chennai bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Dr Prashanth Gargava heard the petition filed by Naheem Pasha from Mancherial district recently. The bench directed that the DRCC site could not remain a mere dumping ground and must transition into a scientifically managed facility. It disposed of the matter with several mandatory directions.

---

Some of the directions were to expeditiously operationalise the new DRCC and expand the wet waste composting capacity, complete the ongoing bio-mining project, ban all open burning of waste, maintain adequate firefighting gear, and periodically test groundwater, surface water, soil and ambient air quality.

The bench instructed the Telangana Pollution Control Board to conduct quarterly site inspections. It directed the board to take legal action if incidents of fire, unauthorised leachate discharge and unscientific waste accumulation recur.

Earlier, the MCC commissioner G Anvesh submitted an affidavit to the bench narrating the civic body’s scientific solid waste management efforts. The corporation generates 45 metric tonnes of solid waste, of which 84 per cent arrives at the DRCC as mixed waste. It finalised tenders to install a weighing bridge, a baling machine, 2 shredders and five air blowers by July 31.

In the affidavit, the commissioner further informed the bench that it invited private agencies or self-help groups for a 2-year revenue-sharing contract to operate the DRCC, execute dry waste processing and spearhead public source-segregation campaigns.