Karnataka pollution board takes up waste issue with Kerala

MYSURU: As a last resort to stop waste from Kerala being illegally transported to Karnataka and dumped in open land which is an environmental hazard, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) authorities a few days ago wrote to the Kerala State Pollution Control Board member secretary to stop it.
In the letter dated January 30 (a copy of which is with TOI), the authorities complained there are several such casesOn January 28, Nanjangud police filed an FIR against Syed Ahmed Hasan of Mallapppuram for illegally dumping mixed solid waste, biomedical waste and plastic waste in vacant land at Adakanahalli Industrial Area in Nanjangud taluk. The persons doing it know this waste is hazardous to people and wildlife and could cause diseases.
KSPCB environmental officer MG Yathish told STOI that despite the letter, the authorities in Kerala haven't taken action. "There's no reply either," he added. The authorities there claim that Kerala doesn't have proper waste disposal units. As Kerala is dependent on tourists, it wants its land to be free of waste. "Tamil Nadu doesn't transport its waste to Karnataka as it has disposal units," officers said.
Question in Parliament
The issue, first reported in TOI ('Jaggery units in Mysuru and Mandya using waste from Kerala as fuel', January 2019), attracted the attention of former external affairs minister and MP Shashi Tharoor who raised the issue in the Parliament.
On December 10, 2019 in the Lok Sabha, he sought answers from the minister of environment, forest and climate change. He asked whether the government is aware that plastic and rubber waste from Kerala is being used as fuel by the jaggery-making units in Mandya district and the lack of strict measures against it. He also asked whether the government proposed to issue directions to the two states to take suitable steps to protect people from dangerous toxic emissions.
The KSPCB authorities and police conducted raids several on jaggery production units (Alemane) in Mysuru and Mandya districts.
Mohan Kumar of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha in Mandya said waste, especially rubber and plastic material procured from Kerala is widely used in Mandya district to prepare jaggery.
"The sugarcane juice is boiled to make syrup in round-bottomed vessels and later blocks are prepared. Using waste like rubber and plastic to prepare jaggery is dangerous for people who consume it," he said.