The Regional Transport Office, Sholinganallur, recently cancelled the permits of five private sewer lorries that had dumped sewage into the Buckingham Canal near Sholinganallur.
The action was taken under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and based on a list of penalised vehicles from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. A team of Metrowater officials falling under zone 15 had earlier seized vehicles for dumping sewage into the waterway under the Septage Management Act, said sources.
The Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department had brought out the ‘Septage Management Regulations and Operative Guidelines’ last year to regulate transportation and disposal of sewage in regions without adequate sewer network and also protect waterbodies and waterways.