Tamil Nadu Environment Minister attributes river foam to domestic detergents

Tamil Nadu Environment Minister Dr. VK Rajeev has faced criticism after attributing river foaming primarily to domestic sewage containing detergents and surfactants rather than industrial effluents. The remarks were made following an inspection of a river affected by foam.

To defend his position, Rajeev cited a 2020 Central Pollution Control Board study of the Yamuna river and a Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board inspection in Vaniyambadi, which identified surfactants as the cause of foaming without evidence of other industrial pollutants. He also linked foaming at the Kelavarapalli dam to sewage from Bengaluru.

Opposition leaders, including PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran, criticized the stance. Ramadoss argued that industrial effluents from textile dyeing units, particularly in the Noyyal river, are a known cause, while Dhinakaran accused the government of shifting responsibility onto citizens. The controversy also drew mockery from former minister Sellur K Raju, who was previously ridiculed for a thermocol-based water evaporation experiment.