Okhla residents seek quashing of Environment Clearance
granted to Jindal’s waste based power plant
National Green Tribunal to hear the matter on
December 5
Chinese incinerator is poisoning food
chain of residents & birds of Delhi’s Okhla
November
13, 2013: Residents of Okhla are seeking quashing of Consent to Operate by
Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Environment Clearance by Union
Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) as both were granted on false
claims made in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report– mainly Siting Criterion. The matter came for hearing today before the National
Green Tribunal (NGT).
Prior
to NGT’s ongoing hearings, Delhi High Court heard this very matter 28 times
since 2009. Environmental groups and waste recycling workers have also
been demanding closure of the power
plant by Delhi’s Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management Co Pvt Ltd (TOWMCL) of M/s
Jindal Urban Infrastructure Limited (JUIL), a company of M/s Jindal Saw Group
Limited.
The
false claims of the company are as under:
a) That Sukhdev Vihar (including DDA Flats
and plotted colonies) is situated 6.5 km away from the centre of the plant when
the colony actually shares a compound wall with the complex.
b) The nearest distance is 100 metres
whereas MoEF guidelines on siting industries clearly say that the minimum
distance should be half km - and in the case of industries emitting odours at
least one km.
c) The Waste To Energy (WTE) plant is less
than half Km from the National Highway and major rail routes which is contrary
to the Guidelines of Establishment of Industries issued by MoEF.
d) The location of the plant is contrary to
the Master Plan of Delhi. It is sited on a Green Belt created as a buffer
between the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Okhla and the residential areas.
e) Municipal Waste Handling rules of 2000
specify a 500 km distance between a landfill and residential areas and require
incinerators to be located on an existing landfill. The nearest landfill is in
Tughlaqabad which is about 10 km away.
f) The WTE is polluting Okhla Mandi where vegetables
and fruits are stored in the open/ semi covered structures. The Mandi supplies
the fruits and vegetables to the whole of South Delhi and is vulnerable to
toxic ash which contain heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium and mercury).
g) That the plant is surrounded by major hosptials
– Holy Family Hospital, Escorts-Fortis Heart Cares Institute and Apollo
Indraprastha.
h)
That the WTE proponents never cared to obtain clearance from the
National Board for Wildlife although the plant it is situated 1700 metres away
from the western boundary of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Wildlife Park, which
is managed by the Uttar Pradesh government.
This has been pointed out to NGT in an affidavit by the UP government.
It may be
recalled that the Okhla residents had filed Writ Petition No. 9901 of 2009 on
23-5-2009 before the High Court of Delhi
before the construction of the MSW -Waste to Energy Plant at Sukhdev Vihar praying
for stoppage of construction of the proposed Waste-to-Energy Plant close
to Okhla STP, which is surrounded by number of residential colonies, removal of
the existing plant of any type being run in that area to some other area,
seeking action against the concerned officers who planned this plant for this
area and recover the cost from them in their personal capacity.
The High Court
vide its order dated 15-9-2010 was pleased to direct that “Any action taken by
the respondents shall be subject to the result of this Writ Petition.”
The plant in
question was given environment clearance on 21-3-2007 by the Ministry of
Environment and Forest. While the matter was listed for final hearing before
the High Court , DPCC gave consent to operate in Jan 2012 ( the document as known is not in
the public domain) and the WTE started operating from January 2012 while the matter was continuing on Board of High Court for final disposal. This Writ Petition
was transferred to National Green Tribunal vide the order of the High Court
dated 23-1-2013 and numbered as NGT Application No. 22 of 2013.
Since the WTE
has been granted consent to operate and has started operating full scale, Okhla
residents have moved an application in the NGT seeking to amend its prayers and
also to bring on record new facts which have come to knowledge during the
course of the proceedings.
The
amended application points out that “The boundary of Okhla Bird Park and Wild
Life Sanctuary is about 1700 Meters from the Municipal Solid WTE Plant Sukhdev
Vihar.” Notably, there are total 26 recognized Ramsar
sites in India. Okhla Bird Sanctuary should be made India’s 27th Ramasar site
to ensure its protection and conservation from encroachments and industrial
pollution.
It has brought
on record “A recent study carried out in Spain with the objective to
investigate inter-alia whether there might be excess cancer mortality in towns
situated in the vicinity of Spanish –based incinerators.” The conclusion of the
study is “Our results support the hypothesis of a statistically significant
higher risk, among men and women alike, of dying from all cancers in towns
situated near incinerators and hazardous treatment plants, and specifically, a
higher excess risk in respect of tumors of the stomach, liver, pleura, kidney
and ovary. Furthermore , this is one of the first studies to analyze the risk
of dying of cancer related with specific industrial activities in this sector
at a national level , and to highlight the excess risk observed in the vicinity of incinerators……..”
The amended application
submits that the High Court vide its order dated 12-8-2009 on the erroneous
statement of the Additional Solicitor General that “the project in question is
one of the pilot projects recommended by the Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court and two similar projects at
Vijaywada and Hyderabad as recommended by Committee have started functioning”
was pleased to dismiss the Writ Petition and the application of stay. The residents
of Okhla filed a Review Petition No. 448 of 2009 of the order dated 12-8-2009
which was allowed vide the order dated 15-1-2010 and the matter was restored to
its original position noting that “Present Writ Petition was disposed of on
August 12, 2009 on the respondents statement that the project in question was
one of the pilot project recommended by the Expert Committee appointed by the
Supreme Court. However, from the documents placed on record along with the
Review Petition as well as reply filed by NDMC, it is apparent that though the
technology for the project was approved by the Supreme Court, the location of
the pilot project in Delhi was neither recommended by the Expert Committee nor
approved by the Supreme Court”.
Notably, the High
Court directed vide its order dated 15-9-2010 that “Any action taken by the
respondents shall be subject to the result of this writ petition.”
Flawed
basis of environment clearance and consent to operate are as under:-
1)
MoEF had granted environment clearance
on 21-03-2007 while the matter was being heard at the Delhi High Court and
without waiting for final hearing. Plant
started operating on January 2012, again while the DHC was hearing the PIL and
pending final order.
2)
The original clearances were granted for
refuse derived fuel (RDF) technology but the proponents deviated from it. This
came to light during appraisal ordered by Jairam Ramesh while minister MoEF.
The expert Committee constituted on 26-4-2011 by the CPCB confirmed the
following deviations in the technology.
Deviations
conditions mentioned environment clearance and consent to operate are as under:-
Sl
No
|
Environment
clearance
|
Deviations
|
1.
|
Process
at Okhla plant – 1300 TPD (650X2) of mixed garbage + 100 tons TPD green waste
– Timarpur plant -650 TPD. Total
RDF produced = 225X3=675 TPD. The RDF
was the main fuel for WTE. There was
to be a pelletizing facility for RDF. There was to be a bio-methanation plant
|
There is
no production of RDF in the process at WTE. The RDF plant at Timarpur has not
been established – There is no green waste and no bio-methanation.
|
2.
|
Power
plant – single boiler / single turbine.
|
Now there are three boilers for the power plant and two
chimneys.
|
3.
|
Plant
for firing Methane gas produced from bio-methanation plant.
|
There is no bio-methanation plant.
|
4.
|
The
CV (Calorific Value) of the Fuel was to be 2600 kcal/kg +/- 100kcal/kg.
|
Presently there is no measurement of CV and the MSW is
just burnt.
|
5.
|
During
screening of MSW through (-) 15 m.m size the smaller fraction will be
separated out and sold as soil enricher etc.
|
There is no such process
|
6.
|
In
case of deviation or alteration in the project including the implementing
agency, a fresh reference should be made to MoEF for modification and for
ensuring environmental protection.
|
The environment clearance was given to IL & FS while
the project was subsequently sold to Jindal Infrastructure Ltd, which took no
fresh environment clearance is taken
|
Delhi
Government’s decision of setting up the said project is ill conceived, and
blatantly ignores the present demography of the surrounding areas of the
proposed site. How can the government
allow construction of such a hazardous project amidst residential colonies
while ignoring the current geography of the area?
It is noteworthy
that the Jindal’s plant is located amidst dozens of densely pullulated
residential colonies like Sukhdev Vihar, Noor Nagar, Masih Garh, Hazi Colony,
Gaffar Manzil, Johri Farm and parts of Jamia University etc. The nearest human settlement is just 100
meters from the proposed site. Besides
this, the site is in proximity of hospitals like Holy Family, Fortis-Escorts
and air, the under-ground water in the entire area will be poisonous and it is
nothing but denying the right to life to the residents of these colonies. Studies on the workers at incinerator plants
and population of the nearby colonies have identified a wide range of health
hazards. The land given to the developer for setting up this project once used
to be the compost plants run by MCD and
NDMC, which were abandoned long back.
The compost plant was set up in the area when there were no
population/colonies around the site.
However, with the passage of time, the scenario has entirely changed
with the coming up of densely populated colonies such as Sukhdev Vihar, Noor
Nagar, Masih Garh, Haji Colony, Gaffar Manzil, Johri Farm, Noor Nagar, Jasola
Vihar, Sarita Vihar etc.
This plant will
emit large quantities of hazardous emissions (such as dioxins) due to burning
of MSW, and will profoundly affect the health of the people living in the
surrounding areas and environmental for all times to come in future.
The ongoing protest rallies and an
online campaign on Facebook - Okhla ka Ghosla- against the toxic,
waste-to-energy incinerator where students are also participating in large
numbers underlines that the operation of Jindal’s waste burning based power
plant is an act of environmental lawlessness in the heart of the national
capital. If Government of UP can ensure closure of this illegitimate and
illegal plant, it will enhance its credibility and prestige before the
environmental movement. So far no action has been taken penalizing the Jindal’s
plant for its acts of omission and commission and violation of all the rules in
the rule book.
The polluting potential of a plant
using municipal solid waste as fuel is serious. Emissions include suspended
particulate matter (SPM), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrogen
chloride (HCl), and dioxins and furans, the most toxic substances known to
mankind. This plant is owned by Prithviraj Jindal who won an open tender in
2008 to build and operate the plant for 25 years. The owner has ignored the
disastrous environmental health consequences of its operations.
Government of UP and the Tribunal
must consider declaring the construction of the waste incineration based power
plant merely 1.7-km away from the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, situated at the
entrance of Noida in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh as illegal and
initiate action against it for its acts of omission and commission. Even before
NGT could gain stature for saving environmental and human health it appears to
be suffering erosion due to delay in its efforts to close down the plant.
NGT is yet to take cognizance of the
31 page report of the Technical Experts Evaluation Committee of Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy
Incinerator Plant constituted by Union Environment & Forests Minister condemned
the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant by JITF Urban
Infrastructure Limited (Jindal Ecopolis) has violated every rule in the rule
book including environmental clearance conditions. It revealed to the Experts
Committee in September 2011 that it is using untested and unapproved Chinese
incinerator technology in complete violation all laws and environmental
clearance of 2007 including its own project design document and environment
impact assessment report. Chinese technology provider is from Hangzhou New
Century Company Ltd of Hangzhou Boiler Group. The municipal corporation and the
State Government is complicit in allowing such a plant.
It is noteworthy that Union Minister
for Environment & Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan has admitted in Rajya Sabha
that “complaints were received against the incineration of municipal waste and
its likely harmful effects on the air quality and health of people in the
Sukhdev Vihar/Okhla area due to the emissions from Waste-to–Energy plant at Okhla…
on four occasions out of ten, levels of Particulate matter (PM) exceeded the
standard of 150 mg/Nm3” however “the Minister said that as per the Central
pollution Control Board, the technology being used by the Waste-to-Energy plant
at Okhla is as specified in the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling)
Rules, 2000.” This is far from truth as is evident from the CPCB’s report which
is now in public domain.
In the CPCB, MoEF’s report, Dr A B
Akolkar, Director, CPCB emphasized that as per Municipal Solid Waste
(Management & Handling) Rules ‘biodegrdable waste’ is to be treated using
biological method rather than deriving RDF or by incineration as is being done
by Jindal Ecopolis. This clearly demonstrates that the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to
Energy Incinerator Plant violates the Municipal Solid Waste (Management &
Handling) Rules framed under Environment Protection Act, 1986.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA),
Mb: 09818089660, E-mail:gopalkrishna1715@gmail.com, Web: www.toxicswatch.com
Note: Green
Tribunal’s order in contempt of Supreme Court in Jindal’s waste incinerator
case http://www.toxicswatch.org/2013/09/green-tribunals-order-in-contempt-of.html
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