The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s geo-tagged photograph of waste allegedly dumped by the Railways near Karyavattom last week
The ongoing tussle between the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the Indian Railways over the alleged lack of waste management mechanisms in railway premises and dumping of large amounts of waste in public spaces in the capital, has escalated with the civic body submitting a detailed report to the State government regarding the issue.
The latest instance of waste dumping by agencies contracted by the Railways for waste collection was noticed on November 19 at a road in Ambalathinkara in Kazhakuttam ward. Around 25 tonnes of unsegregated waste collected from various trains was found dumped on the road leading to the Kerala Highway Research Institute. The Corporation imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on the Railways and initiated prosecution action.
Right from early 2024, the Corporation officials have on multiple occasions found large mounds of waste collected by the contracted agencies from the three railway stations dumped in various parts of the city. The issues between the civic body and the Railways came to a head following the death of sanitation worker N.Joy while cleaning up a section of the Amayizhanjan canal which passes under the rail lines in the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Station premises in July 2024. While the Corporation blamed the Southern Railway, which hired the worker, for his death, the Railways attributed the death to the indiscriminate disposal of garbage in the canal in the corporation area.
The Corporation Secretary’s report to the State government details all of these instances as well as the action taken in each. The report notes that the Railways has contracted agencies which are not approved by the Suchitwa Mission, the State government or the Corporation. These agencies have been found to be handling the waste unscientifically as well as indiscriminately dumping it even in land belonging to individuals. The unsegregated waste dumps have been found to include used bedsheets, leftover food and plastic bottles. Multiple notices have also been issued to the Railway Division Manager over the issue.
According to Rule 4(3) of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, every bulk waste generator needs to make necessary arrangements for the safe storage and transportation of the segregated waste. They should ensure that the waste is stored in separate bins or containers for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and that the waste is transported to a waste processing or disposal facility authorised by the local body. As per Rule 4(5), every bulk waste generator needs to maintain records of the waste generated, stored, and transported, and make such records available for inspection by the local authority.
“The Corporation’s position is that the Railways, as a bulk generator, should have facilities to segregate waste in trains. The Clean Kerala Company Limited (CKCL) is ready to collect the waste if it is cleaned and handed over. Most of the bulk waste generators in the city, including malls, hospitals and major institutions have contracts with the CKCL. The Railways can also set up some facilities similar to the biogas plants in markets to treat biodegradable waste in the railway stations.
“We realised after the multiple cases of dumping that neither does the Railway currently have any treatment facility, nor is there even basic segregation,” says S.Jahamgeer, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Secretary.
Published – November 26, 2025 09:00 pm IST
