HC slams slack cooperation between Centre and State in cleaning up Periyar

Expressing concern at the continuing large-scale dumping of hazardous waste into the Periyar and the apparent slack cooperation between the Centre and the State in cleaning up the river, the Kerala High Court observed that the pollution level in the river posed an imminent danger to people.

This is largely due to dumping of hazardous waste into Kuzhikandam Creek, a tributary of the Periyar. Citing the lack of synergy, the court said that the Centre and the State were citing excuses, instead of working together to clean up the river.

A Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice M.B. Snehalatha ordered the competent authority at the Centre to commence discussions with the Secretary (Environment), Government of Kerala, to identify a viable solution, including an alternative site for effluent treatment. The court further directed stakeholders to consider the provisions of the Disaster Management Act to tackle pollution.

It also took note of an alternative suggestion by Adv. A.X. Varghese to rejuvenate Kuzhikandam Creek by using the infrastructure of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT). The court said that it would tolerate no further delay on the issue of the pollution of the Periyar and the need to clean up the creek.

It had been reported that hazardous chemicals, including DDT, Benzene Hexachloride, and Endosulfan, had been detected at higher levels in all sediment samples collected from Kuzhikandam Creek and its sub-drains, following the mass fish kill in the Eloor-Edayar industrial stretch of the Periyar on May 20, 2024.

Sulphate concentration in the samples was also found to be high. The highest concentration of DDT (210.4 mg/kg) had been detected near the discharge point of Hindustan Insecticides Limited, near the creek, based on the analysis of sediment samples collected from the creek and its sub-drains joining the river.

The findings had subsequently been included in the report of the expert committee constituted by the High Court to investigate the mass fish kill along the industrial stretch of the river in 2024.