NGT takes suo-motu action against Manali waste incinerator, slams TNPCB, GCC

The 10-tonne waste incinerator in Manali, Chennai, has been operating since 2019 without permission from the TNPCB and has also been dumping ash containing harmful heavy metals.

The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo-motu cognisance after a fact-finding group—consisting of various welfare groups—found that Manali’s waste incinerator plant has been operating for five years without necessary permit. 

The fact-finding group in April released a report which stated that the incinerator plant, which has been operating since 2019, does not have approval from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). 

The report also said that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), which has been supplying garbage to the incinerator plant since 2019, has also refused to respond to Right to Information (RTI) applications seeking information about the legal permissions granted to the plant. 

The NGT has criticised both the TNPCB and the GCC for allowing the plant to function without the necessary permits. 

In addition to the issue of permits, the fact-finding report also collected soil samples from near the 10-tonne waste incinerator and found alarming traces of heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium. The residue of the heavy metals exceeded the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) permissible limits, the report added.

The soil sample test reports were released after TNM reported in March that ash was being openly dumped on the land neighbouring the incinerator plant, violating both environmental laws and the agreement with the GCC. 

The GCC and the TNPCB have been directed to furnish their reports before the NGT on or before April 29, when the case will be heard.

There are 18 other waste incinerators established across Tamil Nadu. However, the TNPCB has not consented for any of them to operate since the board couldn’t verify the technology being used by these plants. 

“Interestingly, the TNPCB annual reports of 2023 and 2024 do not mention the existence of any incinerator within Tamil Nadu,” the fact-finding report noted. 

This article was originally published in The News Minute and can be read here.