Similar news in TOI
Lawyer to head green panel on waste-to-energy plant in East Delhi
Neha Lalchandani, TNN | Apr 6, 2013, 03.48 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The national green tribunal (NGT) has appointed an advocate as local commissioner to carry out inspections at the Sarita Vihar waste-to-energy plant after residents objected to the way in which the tribunal appointed committee had carried out an earlier inspection.
A bench headed by chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar appointed advocate Rahul Chaudhary as local commissioner to visit the plant and report to the court on "the samples of ambient air as well as the stack" to be collected in the presence of the local commissioner, to ensure "that the plant in question is functioning to its optimum capacity —16MW" and to "note as to what was the power production capacity as per the record of the plant for one week immediately following his visit to the plant".
The local commissioner will have the liberty to visit houses around the plant and see if there is any ash in the buildings which can be attributed to the functioning of the plant. "If ash is found, he shall collect the samples and send it for analysis," the court further added.
The tribunal had earlier set up a committee comprising of representatives of Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Pollution Control Board, a representative elected by the residents who filed the PIL, and another one by the respondents. This committee was to take samples from the areas around the plant, especially residential, and submit to the court details on quantity and quality of the ash being generated by the WTE plant.
Giving the committee three weeks to analyse the test results, the court stated that "strangely, it has not been informed to us as to whether any ash was noticed in the surrounding area and in fact the committee did not visit any of the houses of the residents".
It said that a "serious dispute" has arisen over the collection of samples, the procedure for collection, location and the time when the samples were collected. To "avoid any controversy at this stage of arguments" and since time is prayed for submission of the final report", it has asked the local commissioner to carry out another inspection.
Residents had objected to tests being carried out when the plant was not fully operational. Sources said that while officials claimed a full generation of 16MW, online data for the period in which the inspection was carried out showed generation of only 8MW. They also contested the fact that instruments used for monitoring air quality were not calibrated properly. Residents have been protesting against the location of the plant, saying its proximity to a heavily populated area will lead to massive health problems for the residents that live in nearby colonies.
Residents have been protesting against the location of the plant, saying its proximity to a heavily populated area will lead to health problems.
--- In CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA@yahoogroups.co.in, "manmohanjha_arihant" <manmohan.jha@...> wrote:
>
>
> BeBelow news is on a operational waste to energy plant @ Okhla which is
> similar to one proposed at Crossings
>
>
>
>
> · 6 Apr 2013 Hindustan Times (Delhi) (Page no. 7)
>
> · GLARE ON ENERGY UNIT Environment body acts after residents of
> Sukhdev Vihar seek closure of Okhla unit, claiming the burnt waste
> released harmful dioxins
>
> The National Green Tribunal has asked the Delhi government to submit a
> report in three weeks to establish whether or not the waste-toenergy
> plant running at Okhla in South Delhi was causing harm to environment
> and public health.
>
> The report, sources said, would decide the plant's fate and have an
> impact on the plans by Delhi government and municipal corporation to
> introduce two more similar units at Ghazipur and Narela-Bawana road.
>
> The Ghazipur plant is already running on trial and is likely to be
> commissioned soon.
>
> Residents of Sukhdev Vihar in Okhla had first approached the Delhi High
> Court in 2009 seeking closure of the plant, stating that it burnt waste
> and released harmful `dioxins' into the air.
>
> The high court in January this year transferred the case to the
> tribunal, even as the Delhi government maintained that the plant was
> safe. An expert committee, formed earlier to study the plant, told the
> tribunal on Thursday that it needed time for analysis of samples and
> preparation of a report. The tribunal allowed the time but appointed
> advocate Rahul Chaudhary as local commissioner to ensure that samples
> were collected in his presence when the plant was operating at optimum
> capacity of 16MW.
>
> "The commissioner is supposed to randomly visit houses around the
> plant and notice if there was any ash residue. If ash is found, he will
> collect samples and send them for analysis," the tribunal said. T i
> m a r p u r - O k h l a Wa s t e Management Co Pvt Ltd is operating the
> plant that has the capacity to process 1300-tonnes of waste every day
> and generate 16MW of electricity.
>
> The residents of Sukhdev Nagar, in their petition, have also argued that
> the plant was not financially viable. They claimed that Delhi's
> waste, largely because of poor segregation, was not supposed to be fit
> for burning.
>
> One such plant had been shut down years ago.
>
http://www.croma.org.in
Also, do register at the CROMA site, if not done already:
http://www.croma.org.in/member-registration/
[IMP: People posting ads for promotion of their business or of commercial-only nature will be banned/unsubscribed without any warning or clarification]
