Bombay HC Slams Igatpuri Civic Body For Dumping Ground Near School; Says 'Children Deserve Healthy Environment'

Mumbai: Noting that children have a right to a healthy environment, the Bombay High Court has said it would not allow a dumping ground to come up near a school. The court also pulled up the Igatpuri Municipal Council for failing to find an alternate site since 2011.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik was hearing a petition filed by the school and the village panchayat of Awalkheda in Igatpuri, Nashik district, challenging the proposal to set up a Municipal Solid Waste Treatment and Disposal site on land adjacent to a school.

Appearing for the municipal council, advocates Satish Talekar and Madhav Ayyapan said the Urban Development Department’s Principal Secretary had heard all parties and passed an order authorising the plant. However, the petitioners contended that the secretary’s order did not provide any reasons.

Slamming the civic body for choosing a site next to a school, the HC said: “You can’t insist that a dumping ground should be situated adjacent to a school… Please understand children are the future of society. The society is under an obligation to provide them a healthy environment, not a dumping ground.”

The court questioned whether any civic official would send their own child to such a school. “If your son or daughter is studying in a school near a dumping ground, will you send them?” the judges asked. The court rejected the municipal council’s claim that the site was meant for a “processing plant”, not a dumping ground.

Emphasising that it would not allow such a situation, the bench directed the council to revisit its decision and find an alternative location.

Highlighting the long pendency of the matter, the court remarked: “What is surprising is since 2010 these petitions are pending… anybody in your place would have found out an alternative place.”

About a decade ago, the council had purchased the land in Avalkhed. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board approved the project and work began. However, Asima Trust, which runs a school for tribal children nearby, moved the High Court.

The petitioners argued the plant would pose health risks to children and contaminate a nearby river.

The court had stayed the project earlier and directed the council to consult the state. After the government deemed the site suitable, the council sought removal of the stay. The HC has listed the matter for hearing on April 24.