SATYABRATA SINHA, J.

( 1 ) THIS writ petition portrays how Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (for short the Corporation ) a local authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, acts in the matter of maintenance of public hygiene and ecological balance.

( 2 ) A park commonly known as Green Park, is situated adjacent to Ramakrishna Street, Old City, Visakhapatnam. It is alleged by the petitioner that respondent No. 3 Corporation has converted the said park into a Garbage Dumping Yard. It is not in dispute that the Ministry of Environment and Forests by Notification S. O. 783 (E), dated 27-9-1999, prepared Draft Rules known as the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1999 (for short the Rules ), applicable to every Municipal Authority responsible for collection, segregation, storage, transportaition, processing and disposal of municipal solid waste. Rule 8 of the aforementioned Rules, which provides for Management of Municipal Solid Waste reads :management of Municipal Solid Waste - (1) Any municipal solid waste generated in a city or a town, shall be managed in accordance with the compliance criteria and the procedure laid down in Schedule-II. (2) The disposal of municipal solid waste of the specified categories shall be through landfill as per specifications and standards laid down in Schedule-III. (3) The standards for compost and disposal of treated leachate to be followed by the Municipal authorities shall be as laid down in Schedule-IV.

( 3 ) THE A. P. Pollution Control Board (for short the Board ) having received a complaint dated 27-4-1999 from the petitioner about the dumping of garbage in the park by respondent No. 3 Corporation, brought the same to the notice of the Commissioner of respondent No. 3 Corporation. The said letter reads :this is to bring to your notice that this office has received a public complaint from Smt. C. Uma Devi, Advocate, against dumping of the garbage by Corporation adjacent to Ramakrishna Street vide reference 1st cited. The following are the objections in the complaint. 1. It was mentioned in the complaint that Corporation is dumping garbage adjacent to Ramakrishna Street which is affecting the residents of the locality. 2. IT was mentioned in the complaint that present area i. e. where Corporation is dumping the garbage was originally a park. 3. IT was mentioned in the complaint that as the Corporation is dumping garbage in the residential locality, the residents of the locality are prone to infectious diseases like Cholera, Malaria etc. ,4. IN view of the above objection, the complainant requested to shift the dumping yard from the present residential locality to a safer locality. The same has been already brought to your notice vide reference 2nd cited and you are requested once again to examine the matter and furnish your report to this office within 10 days with a copy to Member Secretary, APPCB, HUDA Complex, Ameerpet, Hyderabad.

( 4 ) WHEN criminal proceedings were initiated against respondent No. 3 Corporation under S. 34 of the Human Rights Act, on the file of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Visakhapatnam, the Board in Crl. M. P. No. 324 of 1999 in DDR No. 586 of 1999, by the letter dated 4-11-1999 addressed to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, reported as under :this office earlier received a complaint on the same subject and the same has been brought to the notice of the Corporation authority vide Lr. No. 202/pcb/rov/tech/97-491, dated 19-5-1999 (submitted as annuxure-A ). But no reply was received from the Corporation authorities. (a) During the inspection on 4-11-1999, it was observed large quantity of garbage is existing in the garbage yard. The Corporation is collecting the garbage from the surrounding areas and dumping the above mentioned garbage yard, and again it is being lifted to Kapulappada dumping yard i. e. the above garbage yard is an intermediate storage yard. however, during the inspection it was observed large qua

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