TURA: The Tura Municipal Board (TMB) has been accused of violating the HC directive and continuing to violate the Solid Waste Management Rules by improper dumping of garbage at its dumping ground at Rongkhon Songgital in Tura.
The Rongkhon Songgital Graveyard Committee (RSGC) while making the accusation claimed that due to continuous and improper dumping of garbage at the dumping ground, the Christian graveyard located adjacent to it is covered with garbage overflowing from it.
“We had submitted letters and requested the CEO, Tura; that every citizen and the Municipal Board must follow the guidelines of Environmental Pollution Act of 1986 and Prevention & Control of Pollution Act of 1981 for the betterment of our future and present society. As per the District Administration in its letter vide memo no. PA/TMB/12/2014/ Pt-1/59 of 36-07-2017 and PA/TMB/12/3014/ Pt-2/60 of 28-07-3017, assurance was given to take up the matter and to solve it, but they have not even started to clear the garbage,” the committee claimed.
Secretary of the RSGC, Stephen Ch Sangma informed that earlier, the committee had submitted a writ petition against the TMB in the Meghalaya High Court in Shillong over the violation of the ‘Solid Waste Management Rule 20’. Based on the writ petition, the HC is said to have given directions ‘to clean the Graveyard immediately and not make further nuisance there’.
“However, the TMB has failed to follow and honour the HC order and the unruly dumping of garbage continues,” the committee alleged.