The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognizance of the death of three people and hospitalization of 20 others in Tambaram near Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to suspected contaminated drinking water.
The original application is registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item dated December 7, 2024.
As per the article, a couple of public taps near a sewage line on narrow Mariamman Koil Street are suspected to be the primary source of water contamination.
The article highlights that water samples from five areas in the Pallavaram Cantonment area and from five places in Pallavaram Kamarajar Nagar under the Tambaram corporation have been sent for testing to ensure the cause of death.
The article reports that the residents have complained of symptoms like diarrhoea and nausea and alleged that the water had a bad odour.
Furthermore, it is also stated that the area has been suffering from contaminated water problems for the last fifteen years.
The article also alleges that the water pipeline may have been damaged during Cyclone Fengal, allowing sewage to seep in.
Moreover, the article states that at least 50 households in the area, mostly lower-income families, depend on these taps for water, which is piped by the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD Board) from river Palar and groundwater wells. A Metro water lorry also comes with water once in two days.
The news items attract the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The Principal Bench comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Chairperson, and Dr. A. Senthil Vel, Expert Member impleaded the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Central Pollution Control Board, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and District Magistrate, Chennai, as respondents.
They were directed to file responses/replies by way of affidavit before the appropriate Bench of the Tribunal at least one week before the next hearing date.
The case was transferred to the Southern Zonal Bench, Chennai, and listed for hearing on February 10, 2025.
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