Another Twist for Spat between Residents of Sukhdev Vihar and the Delhi Government
The residents of Sukhdev Vihar spar in court over waste-to-energy plant. Another twist witnessed during the ongoing hearing in the Delhi High Court on Monday.
While the counsel for the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) adduced a note claiming that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had given a consent to run it in January last year, even before the unit was ready, the government counsel countered that the operator had not applied for such a permission till date.
Responding to this, standing counsel for the Delhi government and for the DPCC, Najmi Waziri said the information being furnished by the petitioner’s counsel was not right since the private operator had not even applied for obtaining a consent to operate.
“I have (a statement) from the operator that they have not even applied for the consent to operate. Only a consent to establish has been given. There is no question of granting a consent to operate when they have not even applied for it,” submitted Waziri.
After hearing the two completely contradictory statements, Justice Khanna asked Nigam to verify the source of the consent letter, for the operator had refused to having even applied for it till date and the government has also supported this stand.
“Considering what has transpired in the court, you must verify the documents you are relying upon,” Justice Khanna told Nigam.
The bench then recorded the statements of both the lawyers. It, however, refrained from passing any restraining order and merely elucidated that “without a consent to operate, the plant cannot operate”. The court will now hear the matter in August.
The plant awaits a nod from the court as residents of the area have filed a PIL, claiming that the plant was too close and posed an environment threat.
The Rs 200-crore project in Okhla is expected to treat more than 1,000 tonnes of solid waste, converting it into electricity. The Delhi government has termed it as a “potential answer to the city’s waste disposal problem”.
Delhi NCR, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Residents of Sukhdev Vihar, Residents’ Welfare Association, Sukhdev Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar Residents Welfare Association
