Delhi high court sought a detailed report on waste to energy plant
The Delhi high court sought a detailed report from the Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCB) to explain how the “waste to energy” project near Sukhdev Vihar will not be polluting the air. The court sought info from the DPCB while hearing a PIL filed by Sukhdev Vihar Residents Welfare Association (RWA). The proposed project is located amid densely populated colonies like Sukhdev Vihar, Noor Nagar, Masih Garh, Haji Colony, Gaffar Manzil, Johri Farm and parts of Jamia Milia Islamia University.
According to source, Residents of seven colonies near the proposed “waste-to-energy project” at Okhla have voiced strong opposition to setting up in close proximity to a residential area. In an open letter to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, residents of Sukhdev Vihar and adjoining colonies of the Capital have written that though the project is being presented as an “environmentally sustainable option”, it is fraught with several dangers.
“This plant will emit large quantities of hazardous and toxic emissions (such as dioxins and furans) due to burning of mixed municipal solid waste, and will profoundly affect the health of the people living in the surrounding areas and environment for all times to come,” Said residents.
The residents said when a 6-7 tonne medical waste treatment plant has been ordered out of the area by the court due to health concerns, how is it that the Government deemed it fit to install a nearly 2,000 tonne per day treatment plant in the vicinity.
According to the petitioner RWA, the waste treatment plant will burn 2,050 tonnes of waste every day that will severely pollute the air of the nearby surroundings. The association also pointed out that the proposed site is just hundred meters away from DDA flats of Sukhdev Vihar and also in close proximity to several hospitals. The petitioner pleaded before the high court to direct that the treatment plant be shifted complying with the Supreme Court’s earlier order prohibiting such plants to be set up in residential areas.
On behalf of the respondent’s the government argued that Rs 130 crores have already been spent on the project worth Rs 220 crores and that it may be difficult to shift the project at such advanced stage. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Mishra and Justice Manmohan observed that the court is not an expert in the matter so DPCB must be present in the next hearing to clarify the issue.
Source:
air pollution, burning of municipal solid waste, DDA flats of Sukhdev Vihar, Delhi high court, Delhi NCR, Delhi Pollution Control Board, Okhla, Sukhdev Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar Residents Welfare Association, waste to energy, waste treatment plant
