Public health crisis due to hazardous
pollutants like Dioxins has been a major concern in Okhla
Struggle against waste incinerators in
Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur continues
New Delhi/25/02/2015: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
today assured a delegation of Sukhdev Vihar residents from Okhla, South
Delhi district that the polluting incinerator based waste-to-energy plant being
operated close to residential areas, would be shut down. This highly
controversial plant of 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 has been running using an unapproved and untested Chinese technology
with impunity.
With this the struggle of Okhla residents’ Anti-Incinerator
Committee and environmental groups has reached a crucial stage. Such
technologies have been supported by both BJP and Congress in Delhi with total
disregard towards their public health consequences. Delhi Chief Minister’s
assurance has brought a sigh of relief.
The
location of this hazardous incinerator plant is surrounded by New Friends
Colony, Nehru Place, Kalkaji, Abul Fazal Enclave, Sukhdev Vihar, Greater
Kailash, Govindpuri, Sriniwaspuri, Tughlakabad, Sarita Vihar, Jasola, Shaheen
Bagh, Jaitpur, Madanpur, Badarpur,Zakir Nagar, Okhla Vihar, Ghaffar Manzil
Colony,hazi colony, Batla House and Harkesh Nagar. It is in the proximity
of Okhla Sanctuary, a Bird Park and
Wildlife Sanctuary, where during the month of September thousands of migratory
birds including shovellers, pintail, common teal, gadwall and blue winged teal
visit the area.
This plant
is in the vicinity Indraprastha Apollo Hospital and Escort Heart Hospital,
Al-shifa Multi Speciality Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, M.A Ansari Health
Center and public gardens like Kalindi Kunj,Okhla Head, the most famous public
garden close to the river of Yamuna. Delhi Ride Park also open in kalindi kunj
park.
Delhi chief minister was given a copy of a letter written
to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairman demanding answers to 21
issues surrounding the controversial plant, including illegal siting in a
residential area and failure to control toxic emissions ever since the
plant began operation two years ago. The letter presented indisputable facts
about violations of all the rules in the rule book in violation of the ‘battery limit’ set by the Ministry
of Environment and Forests for such polluting industries. Delhi Urban Arts
Committee (DUAC) never cleared the project given the proximity to marble
monuments like the Bahai temple and Humayun’s tomb which are vulnerable to acid
rain.
This plant
is sited perilously close to several educational and research institutions -–
the Central Road Research Institute, the Institute of Genomics and Integrative
Biology, the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Jamia Millia
Islamia and several schools.
Former
environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, after visiting the plant wrote to former
chief minister Sheila Dikshit pointing out several anomalies such as the
failure to take the public into confidence in the prescribed manner. Notably,
tests ordered by the National Green Tribunal have shown Dioxins, a dangerously
toxic substance released by incineration, to be several times more than
permissible limits. The CPCB does not have any means to test for dioxins
continuously, online and on a readily verifiable basis. Residents have
repeatedly complained to CPCB and DPCC about excessive pollution released daily
by the plant on a daily, causing eye irritation and breathing difficulties.
These complaints were accompanied by photographic evidence. The burning of waste results in the release
of a cocktail of pollutants – SOx, NOx, SPM, RSPM, dioxins, furans and heavy
metals like lead, cadmium and mercury (from batteries and CFLs).
In 2014
the Parliamentary Committee on Urban Affairs in its report severely criticised the government for ‘callously’
siting the plant in a residential area unmindful of the serious health hazards
it poses to people residing in distant
areas because of the nature of aerial dioxin transport. The National
Environment Engineering Institute prepared a report, commissioned by Delhi’s
local bodies on incineration, warned of serious public health consequences from
the kind of open incineration being practiced at Okhla in 2014.
In such a
backdrop, Delhi chief minister’s assurance made the residents and environmental
groups quite hopeful. "We are extremely happy with the chief minister's
positive response to a horrendous situation in Sukhdev Vihar where people are
being poisoned with toxic gases on a daily basis," said Huma Hashim a
resident of Sukhdev Vihar and a community leader.
In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister dated 16 February,
2015, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), a research and advocacy group had demanded
that “AAP Government should abandon hazardous waste incinerator based power
plant in Okhla and adopt zero waste philosophy for decentralized management of
municipal waste.”
Meanwhile,
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is pursuing the Case No. 8296/30/10/2014 filed by TWA which has been campaigning against this toxic
Dioxins emitting plant since 2005 and is pursuing a case against the National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against toxic threat from municipal waste
incinerator plants in Okhla, Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur.
It is
relevant to recall that Delhi High Court's judgment dated January 15, 2013
established the health impacts from the incinerator based on existing medical
literature. The High Court judgment refers to 'The summary of
"Epidemiological Studies on Adverse Health Effects Associated with
Incineration" would show that medical waste incinerators are a leading
source of dioxins and mercury in the environment and there is link between
incinerator emissions and adverse health impacts on incinerator workers and
residents living around the incinerators.'
The
observations made in the judgment will have far reaching implications. It
reads: "Both older and more modern incinerators can contribute to the
contamination of local soil and vegetation with dioxins and heavy metals. In
several European countries, cow"s milk from farms located in the vicinity
of incinerators has been found to contain elevated levels of dioxin, in some
cases above regulatory limits. Increased levels of dioxins have been found in
the tissues of residents near to incinerators in the UK, Spain and Japan. At
anincinerator in Finland, mercury was increased in hair of residents living in
the vicinity. Children living near a modern incinerator in Spain were found to
have elevated levels of urinary thioethers, a biomarker of toxic exposure.
" It notes that "After 2 years of operation of incinerator, dioxins
levels were found increased by about 25% in both groups living between 0.5 to
1.5 and 3.5 to 4.0 km away (201 people) of people. In the repeat analysis, the increase
was in the range of 10-15%".
The
judgment records that "Mothers living close to incinerators and crematoria
from 1956 to 1993" showed "increased risk of lethal congenital
abnormalities, in particular, spinal bifida and heart defects, near
incinerators: increased risk of stillbirths and anacephalus near
crematoria".
With
regard to "Residents from 7 to 64 years old living within 5 km of an
incinerator and the incinerator workers" the judgment observes,
"Levels of mercury in hair increased with closer proximity to the
incinerator during a 10 year period".
The judgment recorded that "Residents living within 10 km of an
incinerator, refinery, and waste disposal site" showed "Significant
increase in laryngeal cancer in men living with closer proximity to the incinerator
and other pollution sources". The *"Residents living around an
incinerator and other pollution sources" showed "Significant increase
in lung cancer related specifically to the incinerator". *The
*"People living within 7.5 km of 72 incinerators" displayed
"Risks of all cancers and specifically of stomach, colorectal, liver and
lung cancer increased with closer proximity to incinerators".
Residents
have been holding demonstrations, fighting court cases, and meeting officials
since 2009 seeking relief from the smoke and ash from Prithiraj Jindal's
municipal waste to energy plant and the Agarwal's biomedical waste incinerator.
Earlier,
in a letter dated April 1, 2014 sent to residents of Sukhdev Vihar, Okhla Col.
Devinder Sehrawat, AAP candidate for South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency had
promised that "when the AAP returns to power in Delhi, this plant would be
shut down and if not, at least shifted to another suitable location with little
loss of time. Hence, the voters of the area need to take the right decision at
the polls."
TWA along
with residents had given a petition to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on
January 11, 2014 and asked the then Delhi environment minister Saurabh Bhardwaj
on January 27, 2014 to intervene and save the residents from the incinerator
plant.
TWA has
been underling the collusion between BJP and Indian National Congress to
promote toxic municipal waste incinerators in Delhi's Narela-Bawana, Ghazipur
and Okhla. Doctors, judges and residents hold that toxic emissions from such
plants have been linked to cancers, respiratory ailments and birth defects. TWA
has been demanding that the waste incinerators plants should be shut down for
good because shifting a polluting unit of factory does not make it
non-polluting.
Unaware
of Delhi Chief Minister’s stance, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has
sent a misleading reply dated February 11, 2015 in response to NHRC's notice.
NHRC’s case and Chief Minister’s assurance underlines the issue of violation of
human rights because of health consequences of environmental lawlessness.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch
Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660, 08227816731, E-mail:gopalkrishna1715@gmail.com,
Web: www.toxicswatch.org
Huma Hashim, Okhla Anti-incinerator Committee, E-mail:
huma_hashim@yahoo.in, Mb: 9999060121, Okhla ka Ghosla- https://www.facebook.com/ghoslaokhla
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