Interim Injunction on Garbage Dumping in Muthurajawela

On a petition filed in the Supreme Court by several residents in the area seeking a court order against the disposal of garbage at the Muthurajawela site, the Supreme Court today issued an injunction order prohibiting the Colombo Municipal Council from disposing garbage in Muthurajawela till July 20.

The petitioners  stated in their application to the Supreme Court  that waste collected from Colombo is being disposed in Muthurajawela despite the area being named an Environmental Conservation Zone and that this has resulted in several environmental and health issues surfacing.

When the case was taken up before a judge bench comprising Chief Justice Priyasad Dep and Justice Upali Abeyratne, the attorney appearing on behalf of the Municipal Commissioner of the CMC informed the court the site in question does not belong to the Environmental Conservation Zone and that waste disposal at the site had been halted from last evening.

In reply to the Court inquiry  as to why a sustainable method of waste disposal in Colombo has not been established despite it being a longstanding issue, the attorney stated that efforts have been taken to establish suitable and scientific processes for this and that certain waste management programmes had to be scrapped due to objections from the public.