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The Court of Appeal yesterday directed the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to assess the air quality in the Jaffna area and present its findings to the Court.
A two-judge Bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne (President) and Shashi Mahendran, directed the relevant authorities to explore the possibility of preparing a programme to inform the public about adverse air quality conditions in Jaffna, based on the investigation’s results.
This order was issued following a petition filed by Umasugi Nadarajah, a resident of the Jaffna area.
Senior Counsel Ravindranath Dabare, representing the petitioner, informed court that no formal investigation had been conducted by government agencies regarding the air quality in the Jaffna peninsula. The petitioner stated that according to NBRO report on “Monitoring of Ambient Air Quality Levels at Nallur Area, Jaffna” dated June 19, 2023, the air quality severely exceeds WHO guidelines due to domestic and vehicular activity between 6 am. to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm.
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