An environmental activist and an environmental organisation yesterday, filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court challenging the gazette notification issued by President Maithripala Sirisena in the capacity of Environment Minister over the garbage issue in the country.
The Environment Minister had issued a gazette notification bearing No.2015/53 dated April 20 under the Public Security Ordinance declaring that “all services, work or labour or any description whatsoever necessary or required to be done in connection with any undertaking performed or maintained by any Local Authority or for and on behalf of any such Local Authority for the clearance, collection, transportation, temporary storage, processing, separation, treatment, disposal and sale of street refuse, house refuse or other similar matter”.
Ranjith Sisira Kumara, an environmental activist and the Centre for Environmental Justice filed this petition through Counsel Ravindranath Dabare, Nilmal Wickremasinghe and Sudath Atapattu naming Central Environmental Authority, the Attorney General and several others as respondents.
The petitioners sought an order declaring that the gazette notification bearing No.2015/53 is null and void and of no force avail in law.
The petitioners stated that the concerned Gazette Notification is a violation of the Fundamental Rights of the majority of the citizens as it paves the way for illegal dumping of garbage by Local Authorities disregarding the public health sanitation, environmental sanitation and environmental stability, causing imminent danger of spreading vector diseases.
The petitioners sated that the aforesaid gazette notification violates Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 12(1), 14(1)(a), 14(1)(b), 14(1)(c) and 14(1)(h) of the Constitution. They further sought an order directing the respondents to formulate a proper procedure of management of waste and to formulate proper regulations and mechanism of monitoring such activities.
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