Unsatisfactory state of affairs: NGT intervenes to protect Kerala's Ramsar site

New Delhi, March 1 Taking note of a plea stating serious environmental degradation due to decade-old dumping of waste and sewage in Ashtamudi Wetland, the gateway to Kerala's backwaters, the National Green Tribunal has stressed the need for an integrated management plan for the protection of the vulnerable Ramsar site in Kollam district.

"The situation mentioned in the complaint, if true, shows the unsatisfactory state of affairs calling for immediate remedial action on the part of the State Authorities," said the NGT bench headed by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.

Alleging failure to take remedial action for protecting Ashtamudi Wetland and Vembanad-Kol wetland, the petitioner stated that the wetland has become a polluted drain of the city due to dumping of pharmaceutical waste, plastic waste, domestic waste, slaughter-house waste, and in numerous other sources.

The canal passes right through the centre of the city which is less than a kilometre from the District Collectorate and other government offices, leads to National Water Highway, and Ashtamudi wetland and Vembanad Kol wetlands, both are protected under Ramsar Convention. These wetlands provide habitat for a considerable number of flora and fauna and migratory birds too. The district authorities and state authorities have been neglecting the situation for decades, the plea alleged.

Considering the plea, the green court sought immediate remedial action by the state authorities for compliance under the Water

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