The Munnar grama panchayat has decided not to collect unsegregated waste from Munnar hill station. The decision has been made after wild elephants were found eating plastic waste from the panchayat’s dumping yard at Kallar on Thursday.
Munnar panchayat secretary K.N. Sahajan said on Tuesday that the panchayat will not collect unsegregated waste from households or establishments in the Munnar panchayat. “The licences of establishments violating the panchayat’s decision will be cancelled. Three tourists were fined a total of ₹9,000 for throwing garbage, including plastic, on Sunday and Monday. The panchayat will reward those who report such acts,” said Mr. Sahajan.
“Three green army members deployed by the panchayat will monitor waste disposal round the clock from January 17 (Wednesday). They will report violations,” said Mr. Sahajan.
According to Mr. Sahajan, the panchayat has cleared most of the waste from the dumping yard at Kallar, near Nallathanni, in Munnar. After wild elephants were recently found eating plastic waste from the panchayat-owned dumping yard, the Kerala High Court and State government had intervened.
According to the panchayat officials, facilities have been put in place for the tourists to dump waste at various spots in the hill station. “The panchayat cannot handle unsegregated waste, and dumping of such waste remains a major concern in the hill station,” said the secretary.
