The Hindu 05.04.2013
Tribunal stays sewage treatment plant works at Nanjundapuram
The stay prevents civic body from carrying out works till April 30.
The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Tuesday
granted an interim injunction restraining the Coimbatore Corporation
from proceeding with the construction or other activities of a proposed
Open Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Uppilipalayam village,
Nanjundapuram, which is situated within the immediate vicinity of a
residential colony.
Originally, Mayflower Sakthi
Garden Owners’ Association had filed two writ petitions in 2011 before
the Madras High Court against the action of the Corporation.
The
matter was transferred to the National Green Tribunal and the
Association also filed another petition seeking an interim relief.
The
Bench comprising its judicial member Justice M. Chockalingam and expert
member Prof. R. Nagendran admitted the matter and ordered notices to
the authorities including the Secretary, Municipal Administration and
Water Supplies department, Commissioner of Coimbatore Corporation and
District Collector.
Sathish Parasaran, senior counsel
for the applicant, submitted that the location of the STP also falls
short of the siting criteria laid down by the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board itself.
The Open Sewage Treatment Plant site should be 500 metres away from the residential area.
While matter stood thus, the site has been located within 10 metres.
Hence, he sought an interim injunction restraining the Corporation from proceeding with construction activities.
The
Tribunal noted that the case was filed in 2011, none from the
respondent side filed any counter and apart from the same, as per the
STP siting criteria – Guidelines, it should be 500 metres away from the
residential area.
Under the facts of circumstances of
the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had made out a prima
facie case for granting interim injunction from proceeding with any
construction activity in the STP until further orders.
In
the application, the Association said during the last week of March
2009, they were shocked to know that the Corporation was constructing a
large open sewage tank to collect the sewage of the quantity in the
order of 45.29 Million Litres per Day (MLD), coming from Zones 3 and 7.
Petitions
were submitted to the local MLA, Mayor and Commissioner of the
Corporation, pointing out that the proposed sewage treatment plant was
wholly ill-conceived and its hasty implementation was being made even
without any notification, consultation or concurrence of the residents
or the general public.
Relocation
The
Association requested for relocation of the sewage treatment plant as
well as the existing pumping station from the vicinity of the
residential apartment.
Under such situation, they approached the Madras High Court seeking various reliefs.
Meanwhile, the interim stay has come in as a temporary relief for the residents of the area.
The
stay prevented the Coimbatore Corporation from carrying out any work
relating to the Open Sewage Treatment Plant till April 30, 2013.
Red category
G.
Premanand, an activist against the project pointed out that STPs are
classified under Red category and cannot come up in residential areas.
Citing technology, the norms laid down for setting up an STP were
diluted, he lamented.
“It was not only a wrong choice
of land and location for the STP, the civic body even failed to respond
to any of the legal notices served on it in the last two-years”.
The
STP was wrongly put up in an area classified as mixed residential use
zone, said Rukmangathan, president of Mayflower Sakthi Gardens Owners’
Association.
Additional cost
Secretary
of the association C.G. Kumar pointed out that relocation would incur
only additional cost for the civic body but the present location would
displace over 3,500 families.