The National Green Tribunal’s Southern bench has asked the state authorities for a compliance report on the measures taken to manage waste generated during Kaanum Pongal celebrations this year.
Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in Tamil Nadu, across four days, starting with Bhogi pongal and followed by Thai Pongal and Mattu Pongal and ending with Kaanum Pongal. Crowds of people venture out on the last day resulting in significant waste, which includes plastic, food, and disposable packaging from eateries, which require large-scale cleanups.
This year, around 110 lakh metric tonnes of waste are likely to be generated around Chennai’s beaches, according to a report in the New Indian Express.
Pongal festivities in the state started on January 13, Tuesday. As the last day of statewide Pongal celebrations, Kaanum Pongal sees huge crowds across the city, with large crowds also flocking to the beaches in the city.
The bench, composed of judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava, while acknowledging the measures that have been put in place, also noted that the government had to move towards preventative waste management, beyond just the management of waste that has already been generated after an event.
The tribunal made these observations in a suo moto case on Monday. A TNM report in 2018 had stated that 44 Metric Tonnes of garbage had accumulated on the city’s beaches following Kaanum Pongal.
In 2013, a total of 59 tonnes of garbage were collected from Marina and Thiruvanmiyur beaches, which reduced to 36 tonnes in 2017. But in 2018, the garbage generated went up. The government submitted that 100 tonnes of garbage was generated during the festival in 2025 and projected 110 MT as the expected figure this year.
Garbage piles in beaches are a concern since the Olive Ridley turtle nesting season has started early this year.
Olive Ridley turtles are an endangered species that come ashore to the Chennai beaches between January and March in South India. After nesting, the female turtles swim ashore to lay eggs by digging pits in the sand. The hatchlings emerge 45 to 50 days after nesting. The female turtles, however, do not wait to see their eggs hatch and return to the sea.
Authorities have submitted that measures taken include the deployment of additional sanitation workers, an increase in the number of waste bins in the area, monitoring to prevent littering, and fines imposed for violations. The matter has been adjourned to February 2, 2026, for a review of the compliance.