Primary Duty Of Municipality To Deal With Municipal Waste Even If It Was Dumped Illegally In Private Property: Kerala High Court

“It is the primary duty of the Municipality to deal with municipal waste. The fact that such municipal waste has been illegally dumped in private property (here the property of the Kochi Metro) cannot absolve the Municipality from the liability of removing the waste for proper treatment as is done in the case of other municipal waste being collected and processed by the Municipality, “stated Justice Gopinath P.

The petitioner had approached the High Court seeking the removal of a large amount of waste illegally dumped in the property belonging to Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL)

The KMRL submitted that they were ready to construct a fence around the plot of land to prevent the dumping of waste.

The Counsel appearing for the Municipality submitted that the local body has no responsibility for removing the waste since the land belongs to KMRL.

The Court observed that the Municipality cannot absolve itself from liability of removing and treating municipal waste by stating that it was dumped in private property.

Therefore, the Court directed the Municipality to suggest a site to the KMRL for removing the waste. It also directed the Municipality to accept the accumulated waste. The Court directed thus:

“The Thrikkakara Municipality shall accept the accumulated waste without segregation and shall deal with the same as is done in the case of other municipal waste collected by the Thrikkakara Municipality. The steps to remove the waste as directed above shall be completed within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.”

The Court also directed KMRL to construct a compound wall around their plot for the prevention of illegal dumping of waste.

Counsel for the petitioner: Advocates M.T.Sureshkumar, Manjusha K, Reswin A. Khadir, Sreelakshmi Sabu

Counsel for the respondents: Standing Counsels S.Jamal, M.U.Vijayalakshmi, Senior Advocate K.Jaju Babu, Government Pleader Devishri .R

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 55

Case title: Mohammed Manath Ibrahim v Thrikkakara Municipality

Case number: WP(C) NO. 36125 OF 2023

Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment