JOBY V B Vs. ADIMALY GRAMA PANCHAYATH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a public worker, who is residing very near to the office of the first respondent Panchayath and he is interested in taking up the causes of the public before the concerned authority, seeking redressal. According to him, the office of the first respondent is situated by the side of a State Highway Cochin-Danushkodi and it is unfortunate situation that the Panchayat collects all public waste materials from shops, market, establishments, hospitals and several institutions situated in Adimaly town and dumps them in the office compound of the first respondent Panchayath. This practice is being continued, since the last a few months, by the Panchayath. The dumping of waste created heavy smell and unhygienic situation, causing irreparable damage to the health of the citizens all over the Panchayat. The people connected thereto and thousands of people are visiting the Panchayat office everyday and they are seriously affected by the foul smell, which is being emanated from this public waste, which unfortunately happens to be from the premises of the Panchayat office building. At any time contagious diseases will break out. The petitioner who works and resides in the Adimaly town is personally affected by the dumping of public waste in the compound of the Panchayat office. Stray dogs, flies, rats and other creatures are increasing day by day due to the unscientific collection causing the spread of contagious diseases, which is evidenced by Ext.P1 photograph. Aggrieved by the illegal activities of the respondent Panchayat, the petitioner has preferred Ext.P2 representation before the first respondent; but no action has been taken so far. Having aggrieved by the inaction from the part of the first respondent, the petitioner preferred a representation before the District Collector also; but no action has been taken on that representation also. This is the grievance projected in this writ petition. Hence the petitioner prayed for a direction to issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate order or direction directing the respondent not to dump various types waste, collected from Adimaly town in the compound/premises of the office of the first respondent.

(2.) The first respondent filed counter affidavit admitting the dumping of waste materials in the compound of the office of the first respondent. According to them, there is no other way to dispose of the waste materials, which is collected from the different parts of the Panchayat. According to the Panchayat, they have been dumping waste materials in the compound for the last 20 years and normal quantity of waste everyday is around two tractor loads. Nobody has raised any objection against the dumping of waste in the present dumping yard, which is within the premise of the Panchayat compound. It is also stated that at present there was no building around the site and all the activities came there later. For better and efficient disposal of the waste generated in the Panchayat limits, the Panchayat purchased 2 acres of land in Sy.No.293/2 of Mannamkandam village on 19.12.2014, spending an amount of Rs.49,80,000/-, by virtue of Ext.R1(a) sale deed and the said land was purchased for the purpose of constructing a modern waste disposal plant. Thereafter, the Panchayat alloted Rs.10 lakhs for the construction of the roads in the property purchased by the said sale deed. Apart from that Rs.5 lakhs was sanctioned for construction of barbed fencing of the property. All these amounts were sanctioned in the current year's plan of the Panchayat. The respondent has approached the nodal agency of 'Jalanidhi Padhathi' and the said agency has in principal approved for sanctioning Rs.30 lakhs for the construction of the waste treatment plant. The Construction of the waste treatment plant is to be completed only with the assistance of "Suchitwa Mission" as the supervision of construction and the proposals are to be completed with the plan of the said mission. All these requires at least one year time for completing the proceedings for starting the functions of waste treatment plant at the property purchased by Ext.R1(a). The sum and substance of the counter affidavit is that at present, there is no way other than dumping the waste materials in the compound of the Panchayat office, first respondent wants permission of this Court to continue the dumping of the waste in the compound till the establishment of waste disposal plant.

(3.) The petitioner has filed a reply affidavit also denying all the contentions raised in the counter affidavit and subsequently contended that the dumping of waste materials in the compound of the Panchayat Office commenced one year back only and denied the averments in counter affidavit that for the last 20 years the first respondent has been dumping waste in the alloted place. According to the petitioner, inauguration of the road to that site was on 3.5.2002 and inauguration of the new Panchayat building was 20.7.2006. So, it was impossible to dump waste materials before the 2006. Normal waste comes about 4 lorry and 3 tractor load. The respondent started to deposit waste hardly one year ago and since then, the people of that locality are raising hue and cry including the petitioner. Till 2014, the waste was dumping in a place by name Koompanpara, in the own land of the Panchayat . It is an isolated area and there was no residential area adjacent to that place and the said place is about 4 kmtrs away from the Adimaly town. Later the Panchayat stopped the dumping of waste and adopted an easy method of dumping in the Neriamangalam reserve forest and that continued for some period. Later when the forest authorities objected the same the respondent stopped the same and started to dump in the middle of the thickly populated town. Since the incipience of dumping itself all the residence and shopkeepers including the petitioner objected the same. But still continuing that highly dangerous illegal activities, despite the strong objection from the part of the residents and traders of Adimali town. The respondents themselves admitted that the present dumping place of waste is not the notified area for the same, as enshrined in Section 219F of the Kerala Panchayath Raj Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). Even though, the Panchayath has purchased some property for starting a waste disposal plant, they have not done anything to implement the said project. Had the Panchayath initiated steps promptly, as they claimed, they could have finished the project within three months from the date of purchase of land.