The Jaffna Municipal Council (MC) has submitted a report to the Court of Appeal (CA) outlining the measures taken and those planned to reduce air pollution in the Jaffna Peninsula. The report was presented when a petition filed by a medical practitioner in Jaffna, Dr. Uma Sukhi Nadarajah, was taken up, requesting that a proper program be implemented to minimise air pollution in Jaffna. The petition was taken up on Tuesday (24) before a bench comprising the CA’s President, President’s Counsel and Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya, and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando, After reviewing the report, the bench instructed the respondents named in the petition — including the Central Environmental Authority and the Environment Minister — to provide the necessary support to the Jaffna MC in implementing the measures outlined in the report. The Judges emphasised that this should be treated as a matter of national importance and ordered the respondents to report progress to the Court on 14 July.

Through the petition, filed via attorney Ravindranath Dabare, the petitioner stated that due to the failure of the Jaffna MC to implement a proper waste management system, garbage in the area is being burned, leading to severe air pollution. Accordingly, the petition seeks an order directing the relevant authorities, including the Jaffna MC, to establish a proper program to reduce air pollution in the area.