Kerala High Court Orders Action Against Indiscriminate Waste Dumping At Sabarimala After Elephants, Deer Died Due To Consuming Plastic

The holy shrine of Sabarimala is within the Ranni Forest Reserve and is a part of Periyar Tigar Reserve.

The Court was informed by the Deputy Director of the Periyar Tiger Forest Reserve that 2 elephants and a pregnant Sambhar deer died after consuming the plastic waste in the area. The Deputy Director in his report mentioned that the elephants were coming in herds to eat the garbage especially the empty plastic bags of jaggery. Other wild animals including monkeys (Bonnet Macaque, Niligiri Langur, Lion Tailed Macaque), Malabar Giant Squirell, Sambar Deer, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Porcupine etc. and birds including endangered species of birds like Nilgiri Fly Catcher, Great Indian Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill etc. were seen consuming the waste by the forest officials.

The Court held that the Travancore Devaswom Board violated provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act by not removing garbage in the yard area of the incinerator and the area behind Hotel Haribhavan at the Sannidhanam.

The Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. directed the Deputy Director of Tiger Reserve (West Division) to take action under the provision of the Wildlife (Protection) Act against persons responsible for unscientific dumping of solid wastes and for burning the said waste in open land.

Sabarimala is a strictly no-plastic zone area. The current scenario is attributed to many factors. Plastic jaggery bags and other waste materials were found near the incinerators installed at Sabarimala Sannidhanam. Herds of elephants were seen eating garbage from there. The Travancore Devaswom Board is responsible for timely removal of this waste. Large piles of waste including plastic and toxic waste were also found behind Hotel Haribhavan near the Sannidhanam which is from the hotels and pilgrims. This was also attracting wild animals. As per the Devaswom Board, many of the hotels in the area is using single-use plastic despite the ban. Added to that, some hotels were dumping non-segregated waste into the food pits causing plastic contamination. The Board said that despite the ban on plastic, the pilgrims were bringing single-use plastic in their irumudikettu.

The Deputy Director of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (West Division) informed the Court that once, the officials of the Devaswom Board had set fire to a certain portion of garbage including plastic and toxic waste causing pollution inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The Court has directed to take strict action against hotels which do not segregate their waste and dump mixed waste directly into food waste pits. Direction is also given to take action against eateries that were using plastic and other biohazardous materials at Sannidhanam, Pamba, Nilakkal and the trekking path from Pamba to Sannidhanam. If any kuthaka holder of these hotels stocks or dispenses plastic, the first offence shall be punished with fine of Rs. 2,000, second with fine of Rs. 5,000 and any further violation will lead to closing down the establishment.

As per the Devaswom Board's submission, an average of 24 tons of waste is generated per day in Sabarimala during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season. Among that, only 14 tons is processed in the incinerators. The average quantity of food waste generated is 7 tons per day. As per the report of the Assistant Engineer (Environmental) of the Sabarimala Development Project, the incinerators were installed in 2008 and were designed for continuous operation for up to 8 hours per day. However, during the festival time due to the increased quantity of waste, it is operated for 20 hours per day.

The Devaswom Board informed the Court that the solid waste at the Sannidhanam was removed and steps were being taken to remove all other wastes. The Assistant Engineer (Environmental) of the Sabarimala Development Board informed the Court that arrangements were made to engage labourers to collect plastic waste from dumping yard. Arrangements were also made to remove jaggery bags from the Sannidhanam daily. Further, instructions were given to hotels to not dispose waste directly into the yard or start an open fire.

Case No: SSCR No 5 of 2025

Case Title: Suo Motu v State of Kerala and Others

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 289