Now Reading: Kerala HC stays PCB closure order for poultry waste plant
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Kerala HC stays PCB closure order for poultry waste plant
The Kerala High Court has stayed the closure notice issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to Freshcut Organic Products in Thamarassery, Kozhikode. The PCB had ordered immediate closure on August…
The Story in Brief
The Kerala High Court has stayed the closure notice issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board to Freshcut Organic Products in Thamarassery, Kozhikode. The PCB had ordered immediate closure on August 5, 2026, following complaints of waste draining into a residential area.
However, Justice C. Jayachandran noted the closure order lacked specific reasons and contained only 'bald allegations' without any inspection report. The court also pointed out that no show-cause notice was served beforehand. A panchayat secretary's report found no evidence of waste draining. The court has directed an inspection by the PCB's environmental engineer, accompanied by a nominee from the district monitoring committee, with a report due by August 13.
The Indian Opinion
This case is a classic confrontation between environmental regulation and industrial activity, but both sides have points worth examining. The PCB's order appears procedurally weak: no inspection cited, no show-cause notice. Yet residents have complained for years about odour and water contamination, with past violence and arson. The lazy narrative that either the board is overreaching or the company is a rogue polluter misses the real issue: enforcement must be evidence-based and fair. The inspection report due August 13 will be the real test, does the unit actually discharge waste into the neighbourhood?
Sources (2): thehindu.com, thehindu.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
