The Thamizhaga Cauvery Vivasayigal Sangam has forced the Muthupettai Town Panchayat to roll back its proposal to set up a waste segregation unit near a waterbody under the Solid Waster Management scheme.

According to the sangam’s general secretary P.R.Pandian the Muthupettai Town Panchayat had prepared a plan to set up the waste segregation unit on the catchment and storage area of the 200 acre spread Mangala Eri (Mangala Lake) in Mangalur on the outskirts of the town panchayat.

Pointing out that as per the State Department of Environment’s guidance, garbage dump yard or any unit relating to solid waste management could be established at a distance of 100 metres away from a water body, Mr.Pandian claimed that the Muthupettai Town Panchayat decided to set up the waste segregation unit by encroaching the lake area.

A query raised in this regard with the Chief Minister’s Cell received a reply from the Water Resources Department that the site identified for the segregation unit belong to the Department and implementation of solid waste management project on this site would have adverse impact on the groundwater and the dwelling units that exist in the vicinity of the waterbody, he added.

Such being the case, the civic body’s decision to go ahead with the proposal had irked the local farmers and hence the Sangam members, led by Mr.Pandian, besieged the civic body office on July 22 urging the Town Panchayat authorities to drop the proposal.

The demonstrators withdrew their protest after the police and civic body officials assured them that the civic body would request the District Administration to identify a new site for setting up of the waste segregation unit.