The National Green Tribunal has directed the Greater Chennai Corporation to ensure uninterrupted construction and demolition waste processing and make compliance with waste-management rules mandatory for building-plan approvals and completion certificates. The order follows the closure of processing facilities in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi in 2024 and reports of construction waste being dumped at 25 identified hotspots in the city.
The southern bench of the tribunal directed the corporation to arrange alternative processing facilities so that construction and demolition waste can continue to be collected, transported and processed. It also instructed the civic body to monitor whether waste generators are meeting their responsibilities under the applicable rules.
The tribunal took up the matter suo motu in 2024 after news reports highlighted the identification of locations where construction debris was being dumped. The case places responsibility not only on municipal authorities but also on those generating waste through construction and demolition activity.
The bench comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Prashant Gargava said the GCC had issued guidelines for construction and debris-waste management and the prevention of illegal dumping. However, it directed that compliance with the prescribed requirements must be made mandatory at the building-approval stage.
The order also links waste compliance to the final stage of a project. Authorities have been directed to issue completion certificates only when construction projects comply with construction and demolition waste-management rules. This makes waste handling a condition of project completion rather than a requirement that can be addressed separately after construction activity has ended.
The tribunal’s directions follow the interruption of operations at the Kodungaiyur and Perungudi processing facilities in 2024. The order does not specify the capacity or operational status of alternative facilities, but directs the GCC to arrange alternatives to prevent a gap in processing.
The National Green Tribunal has further directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to monitor the collection, transportation, processing and disposal of construction and demolition waste across the state. The state pollution-control authority has also been asked to ensure compliance with the law and relevant guidelines.
For builders and other waste generators, the directions mean that compliance will be subject to scrutiny during both the approval and completion stages of construction projects. For the GCC, the immediate administrative task is to maintain processing continuity and monitor compliance with the waste-management requirements. The tribunal’s directions extend the monitoring responsibility statewide through the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
