Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that authorities, including the Colombo Municipal Council, violated the fundamental rights of residents by continuing to dump garbage at the Meethotamulla site, which later collapsed in 2017, killing dozens of people.
The judgment, delivered on March 31, comes nearly a decade after residents filed fundamental rights petitions warning of the dangers posed by the growing garbage mound.
Attorney-at-law Nuwan Bopage, who led the campaign against the Meethotamulla garbage dump and was among the petitioners, said residents had repeatedly warned authorities years before the tragedy.
By 2016, the Meethotamulla dump had grown into a massive garbage mound, Bopage said, noting that the government that came to power that year had pledged to stop dumping at the site.
He said residents were granted a discussion with then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe within a month of the new government taking office, but no solution was implemented.
“When we protested, we were assaulted and arrested. With no alternative action, we filed two fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court seeking an order to stop garbage dumping at Meethotamulla,” Bopage said.
He said the petitioners initially sought an interim order preventing the Colombo Municipal Council from dumping waste at the site, but the Supreme Court declined to grant the injunction at the time.
On April 14, 2017, part of the garbage mound collapsed, killing 32 residents and destroying around 300 houses, according to Bopage. Entire communities including Dahampura and Pansalhena were devastated, he added.
Despite the tragedy, the petitioners continued the legal battle, amending filings and pursuing the case for years.
“After nearly ten years, the Supreme Court has now ruled that institutions including the Colombo Municipal Council violated the fundamental rights of residents by dumping garbage at Meethotamulla,” Bopage said.
He noted that while justice had been delayed, the lives lost could not be restored, but the ruling would help prevent similar disasters in the future.
Bopage also expressed appreciation to the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Yasantha Kodagoda, as well as President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris and Eraj de Silva and other lawyers who represented the petitioners.
He also acknowledged the contributions of President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma, Attorney-at-law Asthika Devendra and others who supported affected residents from the beginning.
Bopage said the judgment should serve as a tribute to the 32 victims, including children, who died in the Meethotamulla disaster.
The Meethotamulla garbage dump collapse on April 14, 2017 remains one of Sri Lanka’s worst environmental disasters, prompting major reforms in waste management and the eventual relocation of garbage disposal operations. (Newswire)
