Public health disaster imminent due to violation of
eco-sensitive zone
Residents demand closure of the power plant
Disaster management plan missing
New Delhi, June 22, 2013: In a
letter to Jayanthi Natarajan, Union Minister of Environment and
Forests, residents of Okhla complained against the operation of municipal waste
based power plant within the eco-sensitive zone of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and
Wildlife Park and sought its immediate closure. The
letter is enclosed.
This power plant of M/s Jindal
Urban Infrastructure Limited (JUIL), a company of M/s Jindal Saw Group Limited
owned by Prithviraj Jindal part of O P Jindal Group is facing bitter opposition
from residents, environmental groups and waste pickers and it is facing a case
from Sukhdev Vihar Residents Welfare Association in the National Green Tribunal.
The plant is situated not only in
the proximity of New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Sukhdev Vihar and the
business district Nehru Place - but also several prominent institutions,
including hospitals like Apollo, Escorts and Holy Family and Jamia Milia
Islamia.
Disregarding the vulnerability of
these areas, this power plant has come up deploying unapproved Chinese
technology and in violation of all the relevant environmental regulations and rules.
It is connivance or collusion in the face of such violations that lead to preventable
disasters.
This plant falls within two km of
the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Wildlife Park (OBS-WP). The plant does not have
the mandatory clearances from the National Board for Wildlife.
The location of the plant in a
Eco Sensitive Zone which is a protected area of the Uttar Pradesh state abuts
into the boundary of Delhi state. This attracts the following MoEF
guideline: "Where the boundary of a protected area abuts the
boundary of another State/Union Territory, where it does not form part of any
Protected Area, it shall be the endeavour of both State/Union territory
governments to have mutual consultation and decide upon the width of the
eco-sensitive zone around the Protected Area in question.” In the case of
Jindal’s power plant in question this has not been done.
Since neither Delhi state nor the
Uttar Pradesh government has submitted the required proposals to date, let
alone hold mutual consultations, the activities prohibited under the issued
guidelines would apply in a 10 km–wide eco-sensitive zone around the OBS-WP, as
per the letter of the Secretary, MoEF.
Residents point out in their
letter that “the disaster in Uttarakhand is being cited as the result of
opposition to the proposed eco-sensitive zone in that state by vested
interests. Surely you will not allow similar
gross eco-sensitive zone violations that could lead to another man-made
disaster – that in the National capital and within 10 km of Parliament.
The project proponent concerning
the EIA and the lack of public consultation have already been pointed out to
the Delhi government by Jairam Ramesh vide D.O. No 1-50 MOS (I/C) E&F dated
1st April 2011 in his stint as environment minister. A report of a
committee headed by chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has also
underlined the violations including absence of industrial disaster management
plan.
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) has
been campaigning against the plant since March 2005 when it was first proposed.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch
Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: gopalkrishna1715@gmail.com, Web:
www.toxicswatch.org
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