Waste-to-energy plant in Aravallis get green court’s seal of approval
THE TRIBUNAL SAID THE HUGE WASTE DUMP CANNOT BE LEFT UNATTENDED
nGURUGRAM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ruled in favour of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s (MCG’S) proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in the Aravallis, at the Bandhwari landfill site, 17 kms from the city.
The Tribunal said it was “unable to interfere with the grant of environmental clearance for the waste processing facility.” Environmentalists, however, criticised the ruling saying it would be an ecological disaster.
The Tribunal was of the view that “there is a huge waste dump site which cannot be left unattended and such waste has to be processed and removed” and this necessitated the plant to be set up. The Tribunal gave its order on December 20, which Hindustan Times has reviewed.
HT was the first to report, on November 12, that the proposed WTE plant had been granted an environment clearance by the ministry of environment, forests and climate change. On December 17, HT reported that the MCG had concealed important information from the MOEFCC while seeking clearance for the project.
City-based environmentalist Vivek Kamboj, who has previously challenged violations of the SWM Rules, 2016, at the Bandhwari landfill site, subsequently filed an application challenging the EC, saying it had been obtained in violation of the environment ministry’s EIA Notification, 2006 and is liable to be revoked.
“Main grievance of the appellant claiming to be resident of the area and concerned about environment is that the Project Proponent has concealed material information with regard to existence of the sacred grove of Mangar Bani which is in close proximity to the project site as well as several water bodies and ecosensitive areas in the Aravalli landscape. The project does not fulfil the siting criteria. The data with regard to air quality is not correct and Waste to Energy Plant will further deteriorate the air quality,” the NGT’S principal bench noted in its recent order, which was issued after just one hearing in the matter.
However, “even though the data furnished by the Project Proponent may be open to challenge, the fact remains that there is a huge waste dump site which cannot be left unattended,” said the NGT bench, led by Adarsh Kumar Goel, the Tribunal’s chairperson.
Activists have alleged that, by upholding the EC, the NGT went back on its previous order from July 10 this year, in which it directed the MCG to adopt the “Indore model” of waste management to remediate the Bandhwari landfill. “If Indore model is to be adopted, wholly or in part, no further tender process is necessary,” the Tribunal had noted.
“Now, by declining to examine the technicalities of the EC, the NGT has in essence approved a project that will be ecologically disastrous for the region. The groundwater is already polluted, as evidenced by multiple reports. Due to combustion of refuse derived fuel, locals will have to deal with air pollution in the form of toxic furans and dioxins which will be emitted in their environment,” said Vaishali Rana Chandra, a city-based activist who has been tracking the matter for several years.
Moreover, the establishment of a plant, activists said, would incentivise the production of waste to produce electricity.
“We have laid substantive reasons in our application explaining why WTE plants are counterproductive to solving urban waste management issues, but the court has decided otherwise,” said Vivek Kamboj, applicant in the matter.
While disposing Kamboj’s petition, the NGT also added that, “The operation of waste processing facility must be subjected to appropriate vigilance by the State Pollution Control Board and all necessary safeguards be employed as per conditions of EC.”
It is these very conditions, activists say, which have already been violated. “The NGT has essentially legitimised past violations by the project proponent. It is entirely against the spirit of the EIA notification,” said Kamboj.
Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner in Gurugram and commissioner of the MCG, did not respond to requests seeking comment for this story.