NGT notice to govt over waste plant in Basai wetlands
GURGAON: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday issued notices to the Haryana government and several other bodies, including the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), seeking an explanation for setting up a construction and demolition (C&D) waste plant in Basai wetlands, about 40km from Gurgaon.
Bird watchers and environmentalists have raised concerns over the project coming up in the Basai wetlands catchment area.
On an appeal by Delhi Bird Foundation (DBF), Justice S Wangdi sought the replies from the environment ministry, the Haryana government, the MCG, and IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure and Services Ltd regarding the proposed plant and take suitable decisions in the matter. The plea was filed in Delhi asking that the project be stopped as it would deteriorate the condition of the eco-fragile Basai wetlands. The foundation believes that the ecologically sensitive area must be protected.
According to the C&D Management Rules 2016, a plant cannot be near a forest, water body, wetland, sanctuary or human clusters. The birders said Basai was not declared a wetland under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010, despite having a rich avifauna and aquatic life.
The DBF has demanded that the plant be shifted as it fears the plant would destroy the wetlands and scare away the birds.
“The Haryana government is not serious about conservation. Two months ago, it decided to make a tourist resort in Binda was wildlife sanctuary and now it wants to develop a C&D waste plant in Basai wetlands,” said Abhishek Gulshan, birdwatcher.
“When we asked about the upcoming C&D plant, one of the officials commented off the record that there is no land left is Gurgaon and they are forced to encroach upon the forest and wetlands,” claimed Pankaj Gupta, another birdwatcher.
The DBF has claimed that the water body is in a critical condition in view of the ongoing project that is being developed and operated by a multinational construction firm in an area spread across 3.5 acres. The C&D plant shall have an adverse impact on the water body due to activities such as the plying of heavy vehicles and the pollution caused during the waste conversion process.
More than 240 species of birds such as marbled teal, sarus crane, black-necked stork and Asian dowitcher visit the area. Flamingoes and black francolin, the state bird of Haryana, were common in the wetlands once. Their population is now on the decline.
The Basai wetlands also hosts migratory birds such as waders (water-dependent), ducks (require slightly deeper water to survive) and warblers.