The Madras High Court has directed the State government to take appropriate steps to remove all the encroachments on Pallikaranai marshland under the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act. The first bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan, which gave the direction while passing orders on the writ petitions from Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Hyder Ali and another, also directed the Chennai Corporation not to permit the municipalities in Pallavaram, Madipakkam, Kottivakkam and Valasaravakkam to dump garbage at Perungudi after April 30, 2008. Earlier, advocate A Sirajuddin contended that the fresh and wet municipal waste dumped on the area spoiled the entire ground water, besides posing serious health hazards. Passing interim orders, the Bench constituted an expert committee comprising Environment Director Bhagawan Singh, TIIC chairperson Sheela Rani Chunkath, TN Pollution Control Board Environmental Engineer Krishnamurthy, NEERI former senior scientist R Swaminathan, advocate T K Ramkumar and Chennai Corporation Solid Waste Management superintending engineer. The committee should, among other things, consider the cumulative aspects of dumping of garbage, discharge of sewerage and conversion of the marshland to other use and suggest scientific alternative methods. The report must be submitted in six months