Anti-Goondas Act Let it continue on persons dumping medical wastes

In Tamil Nadu, dumping of medical waste without permission is a crime. To prevent this, the government is insisting that medical waste be collected by authorized institutions and destroyed using high-temperature incinerators or microwave methods.
But without following this, there have been increasing incidents of waste collected from hospitals in the neighboring state of Kerala being loaded into vehicles and dumped across the border into Tamil Nadu in recent times. Especially in the Coimbatore district border area, such incidents of dumping medical waste at night were frequent. These complaints were also prevalent in Tamil Nadu districts bordering Kerala like Tenkasi and Theni.
There was a tendency for medical waste collected in private hospitals to be dumped in public places. Such dumping of medical waste causes great health problems. The people of the area have to breathe foul-smelling air. This increases the risk of disease transmission. In addition, the groundwater in the area is polluted.
The Tamil Nadu government has recently taken action to reduce the number of such violations. The previous law could only impose minimal penalties, such as fines, on those who commit these crimes. A deterrent punishment was needed.
That is why the Tamil Nadu government has enacted a penal law under the Prevention of Gangsters Act. The bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly session held in May 2025 and has now been approved by the Governor.
Accordingly, those who dump medical waste in public or private places will be arrested and imprisoned without trial under the Prevention of Goondas Act. The amendment to this law has been published in the Official Gazette. This amendment has come into force from July 8.
Steps should be taken seriously to ensure that everyone is aware that dumping medical waste in public places will result in the Anti-Goondas Act being invoked.
The respective district administrations should always be on alert and intensify surveillance. If any violation of the rule of dumping medical waste occurs anywhere, the Prevention of Gangsters Act should be invoked immediately.
The new law will only be useful if the government's relentless action continues!