The Telangana High Court on Saturday issued notices to the District Collectors of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medak, to file a counter affidavit on the action taken to control the stench of garbage in and around the Jawaharnagar dump yard.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy, was hearing a petition by aggrieved residents from Sainikpuri, Kapra and other nearby areas, who said that the stench from the city's main dump yard had become unbearable.
The court also issued notices to the commissioners of Kapra and Yapral municipalities, besides the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the state's Pollution Control Board (PCB).
Asking for an update on the GHMC's plan of identifying three alternative locations where the dump yard could be shifted, the court posted the matter to January 20, for further hearing.
An estimated 7,000 metric tonnes of waste generated by the city is transported daily to Jawaharnagar. But with the dump yard able to process only 5,500 metric tonnes of waste a day, the excess garbage stacks up.
The locals who live around the dump yard say that the air, groundwater and soil have been polluted. Pointing out that the damage has already been done, they are unanimous in their demands -- the first one being that all dumping should come to a stop.
In November last year, authorities said that the dump yard had reached its saturation point. However, officials are yet to act.
While the government had identified three alternate spots at Pyaranagar, Lakdaram and Papireddyguda, the proposal has been stuck in limbo, as the Collectors of Ranga Reddy and Medak districts have locked horns, as the GHMC has not put forth an effective solution for garbage disposal. The Collectors claim that locals are resisting the proposal as they are wary of the damage that the dumping might cause to their area.