Despite 76 hearings in High Court &
NGT, no relief in sight from waste incinerator for Okhla residents & birds
Matter listed for 77th time on 14th September
National CDM Authority must revoke the “Host
Country Approval” given to Okhla waste incinerator
September
10, 2016, New Delhi: ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) expresses its dismay at the approach
of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the matter of Jindal's waste incinerator
technology based power plant in Okhla, Delhi which came up for hearing on 9th
September and listed the matter for hearing on 14th September for 49th
date of hearing in the face of callousness of the Government of Delhi towards the
health of residents and birds of Okhla. The Petition in question (Application No. 22 of 2013)
reached NGT after having been heard 28 times in Delhi High Court between
October 2009 and January 2013. The new Solid Waste (management and handling)
Rules 2016 too have failed to bring any ray of hope to the residents and birds
of Okhla.
It
is puzzling as to why NGT is deviating from its own observation "the
first and the foremost question that
has to be answered to this Tribunal
is whether or not this generating plant is causing
environmental problems and is releasing
hazardous discharge s which could be injurious
to the health of the residents in
the colonies of the area in the
vicinity of project site." NGT had observed this in its
order dated March 11, 2013.
The case was
transferred from the High Court of Delhi in view of the terms of the order
dated 23rd January, 2013. It was transferred at a stage when High
Court was all set to pronounce its verdict in the matter after a Division Bench
of the High Court vide the judgment dated 15th January, 2013 took a
categorical position against incinerator technology. The judgment cited ‘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.’
Court observed: “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 an incinerator 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 noted 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 High Court’s verdict records
that “Mothers living close to incinerators and crematoria from 1956 to 1993”
showed “ncreased 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 found 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”.
The High Court dismissed the
contention of M/s Synergy Pvt Ltd that it’s Bio-Medical Waste Treatment
Facility based on incinerator technology is far away from residential
localities such as Sukhdev Vihar. On inquiry it was found that the distance
between the said facility and their colony is less than 30 meters.
But
defying any logic and disregarding such glaring evidence, the High Court instead
of applying the same relevant reasoning for the same geographical location in
the matter of Jindal's
waste incinerator technology based power plant in Okhla, transferred the
matter to NGT.
The
September 1, 2016 order of NGT starkly reveals the insensitivity of NGT. It reads:
"The Learned Counsel appearing for all
the Public Authorities shall take
clear instructions as to the
availability of the sites, operationalisation of
the waste to energy plant, capacity of each of them and what
steps they are going to take to ensure their continuous operalisation without
any further delay. The Learned
Counsel appearing for the North
Corporation would also take clear instructions as to the Revenue
Sharing Agreement with the Project Proponent. List this matter for arguments
on 09th September, 2016."
The order has no relationship with the prayers in the case and with "the first and the foremost question" identified by the NGT. It appears that either someone from the side of residents has compromised the cause or has failed to comprehend the grave issues at stake.
The fact is that it has been ascertained by the NGT that is the plant is "causing environmental problems and is releasing hazardous discharge s which could be injurious to the health of the residents." But the petitioner and their lawyer have failed to argue the case. There is surely something fishy in the state of affairs. The content analysis of the NGT's orders demonstrate it. September 1, 2016 order has no relation with what was the "the first and the foremost
This projects demonstrates how highly polluting technologies like waste incinerator technology are being promoted in the name of climate solution under the supervision of the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) that supervises the UNFCCC's Kyoto Protocol’s CDM under the authority and guidance of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). The CDM EB is fully accountable to the CMP. The CDM EB is the ultimate point of contact for CDM Project Participants for the registration of projects and the issuance of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). For further details you may refer to the letter of ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) sent to Dr. Subrata Bose, National Clean Development Mechanism Authority (NCDMA) and Mr. Eduardo Calvo, Chair, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in May and June 2016 “Seeking action against questionable carbon credit/CDM project in Delhi’s Okhla residential and ecologically fragile area (Project: waste to energy project of Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management Co Pvt Ltd)”.
The
violation of the specific conditions made the certificate of Host Country
Approval dated 15th May, 2007 given to the project of The Timarpur
Waste Management Company Pvt. Ltd. (TWMCPL), a subsidiary of Infrastructure
Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) a conditional certificate.
This approval was given after its consideration by the NCDMA on 30th
March, 2007 but the approval is valid subject to compliance with the given
specific conditions.
It was confirmed based on submissions
by the company in question prior to approval and prior to registration with
UNFCCC’s CDM Executive Board that “The project contributes to Sustainable
Development in India”. It is eminently clear that post registration changes
establish beyond any reasonable doubt that the project does not contribute to
Sustainable Development and sets a very bad precedent for the country in
particular. It puts the communities and the ecosystem of Okhla, Delhi to
enormous risk which cannot be deemed acceptable.
The approval conditions state
categorically that “This approval is not transferrable. The authority reserves
the right to revoke this Host Country Approval if the conditions stipulated in
this approval are not complied with to the satisfaction of the National CDM
Authority.”
The conditions stipulated in the
approval certificate have not been complied with the project in this question.
It must be noted that the approval was given to The Timarpur Waste Management
Company Pvt. Ltd. (TWMCPL), a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing &
Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) but the approval was transferred to
Timarpur-Okhla Waste
Besides this the approval certificate
states “The TOWMCL shall obtain all statutory clearances and other approvals as
required from the competent authorities for setting up of the project.”
It is evident from the Validation
opinion for post registration changes provided by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) that
the “statutory clearances” which were obtained pre registration were not and
has not been obtained post registration. This also clearly shows that Host
Country Approval “conditions stipulated” in the approval have not been complied
with. This creates a full proof compelling logic for the National CDM Authority
which admittedly has the “right to revoke this Host Country Approval” to revoke
the approval granted to this project. This creates a compelling logic for the
process of revoking the "Host Country Approval" to this project
because the "all statutory clearances" which it was required to
obtain have become legally questionable.
Meanwhile, TWA has written to Anil
Razdan, Chairperson, Experts Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Infrastructure and
Miscellaneous Projects sharing evidence of the violation of environmental clearance
conditions by Jindal's waste to energy plant in Delhi’s Okhla residential and
ecologically fragile area. TWA,
a research and advocacy group has been working to prevent such resource
incineration projects and tried, tested and failed technologies since
2000. (Gopal Krishna of ToxicsWatch addressing Delhi residents on waste incionerators in Okhla, Narela Bawana & Ghazipur in the presence of )
It
is apparent NGT isn’t as sensitive as Delhi High Court on the issue of public
health crisis in Okhla due to questionable waste incinerator technology and
dubious carbon credit project. NGT’s order of September 9, 2016 reads,
"List this matter on 14th September, 2016" for the 49th
time. After a total of 76 hearings since 2009 in High Court and NGT, there is
no relief in sight for residents and birds of Okhla and its bird sanctuary.
For Details: Dr Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch
Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660, 08227816731, E-mail-1715krishna@gmail.com, Web:
www.toxicswatch.org
+ comments + 1 comments
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