The Madras High Court has strongly condemned the illegal import of municipal and hazardous waste into India, observing that knowingly importing or facilitating the dumping of foreign waste is not merely an environmental offence but also a direct challenge to the country’s sovereignty.
The single-judge Bench of Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy held that such acts endanger the right to life, public health, ecological security and environmental justice, apart from violating India’s statutory and international obligations governing transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
The Court made the observations while deciding a batch of writ petitions filed by two paper manufacturing companies challenging Orders-in-Original passed by the Customs authorities in relation to illegally imported waste consignments. The petitioners also sought permission to either re-export the cargo to Dubai or dispose of the waste within India through recycling.
In a strongly-worded judgment, the Court observed that any person who knowingly designs, imports or facilitates the import of foreign waste into India commits not only an offence under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, but also acts in a manner that undermines the nation’s sovereignty.
Importing foreign trash into the country not only posed a serious threat to citizens, living organisms and ecosystems, but amounted to a grave assault on the nation’s environmental and territorial integrity, it noted.
The Court also examined the global phenomenon of “waste colonialism”, whereby developed countries transfer the burden of disposing of hazardous, toxic and undesirable waste to developing nations through exporters and intermediaries. It observed that such practices violate international treaty obligations, undermine environmental justice, externalise environmental and social costs, and expose developing countries to severe ecological degradation and public health risks.
The case arose after the petitioner companies, which manufacture paper products, imported consignments declared as waste paper from suppliers in Canada under authorisation granted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.
However, during inspection by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs authorities, the consignments were found to contain prohibited municipal solid waste, including PET bottles, street sweepings, waste food paper, plastic bags, broken glass bottles, used soft-drink cans, plastic containers and other mixed municipal waste, in violation of the Customs Act, 1962, and the applicable waste management regulations.
Following the inspection, the authorities detained and confiscated the consignments and directed the companies to re-export the waste at their own cost. The companies requested permission to divert the consignments to Dubai instead of returning them to the exporting countries and alternatively sought permission to recycle or dispose of the waste within India.
Rejecting both requests, the High Court held that Rule 15(2) of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 specifically requires illegal waste to be re-exported to the country of origin and does not permit diversion to a third country of the importer’s choice.
The Court observed that permitting such diversion would defeat the object of the statutory framework as well as India’s obligations under the Basel Convention regulating the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.
The Court also refused permission to recycle or dispose of the waste within India, holding that the statutory framework expressly prohibits such a course where the imported material consists of prohibited municipal solid waste.
Finding no procedural irregularity, jurisdictional error or infirmity in the adjudication proceedings, the High Court upheld the Customs authorities’ orders and directed the companies to complete the re-export of the consignments to their respective countries of origin within 60 days.
The Court further held that the companies would remain liable to pay all applicable detention and demurrage charges levied by the container freight stations and observed that disputes relating to such charges could not be used to delay the removal of the illegally imported waste from India.
