PRESS RELEASE
Okhla residents suffering from medical waste incinerator get relief
from Delhi High Court
Okhla municipal waste incinerator based power plant case to be heard on
Jan. 23
New Delhi, January 16, 2013:
Delhi High Court bench of Chief Justice and Justice V K Jain came to the rescue
of residents of Okhla’s Sukhdev Vihar who made representations against
operation of the biomedical waste incinerator due to adverse effect on their
health. The judgment was pronounced on 15.01.2013. The judgment is attached.
The Court held that “We,
therefore, direct respondent No. 2 Government of NCT of Delhi and respondent
No. 7 M/s. Synergy Waste Management Pvt. Ltd. to shift the bio-medical waste
disposal facility, being operated near Sukhdev Vihar, to a suitable site. The
site suitable for shifting of the said facility in terms of this order would be
identified by the Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi, within three
months from today in consultation with DDA and DPCC and the facility in
question would be shifted within three months thereafter, i.e., within 06
months from today. M/s Synergy is permitted to continue to operate the facility
at the present site till it is shifted to a new site in terms of this order, or
06 months from today, whichever is earlier. If necessary, any further direction
with respect to the shifting of the said facility, in terms of this order, will
be sought from this Court. Both the petitions stand disposed of in terms of
this order.”
The Court has ordered shifting of
the biomedical waste incinerator which located in the vicinity of the
residential colonies and the controversial municipal waste incinerator to an
alternative site.
The writ petition filed by the
residents of Sukhdev Vihar and adjoining area had sought closure of the
biomedical waste incinerator facility primarily on the ground that being very
close to densely populated residential colonies, it was creating poisonous and
hazardous environment for the residents of those colonies, thereby adversely
affecting their health and degrading environment for all times to come.
The judgment records, “As per the
guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Common Bio-Medical
Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) should be located at a place reasonably far
away from residential and sensitive areas so that it has minimal impact on
these areas. It was noted in the guidelines that such a facility will require
minimum of one acre area and, therefore, preferably should be set up on a plot
size of not less than one acre.”
The order observes, “10. In
Master Plan for Delhi, 2021, notified on 07.02.2007, hazardous waste processing
viz. hospital/medical/industrial waste is amongst the industries, manufacturing
of which shall be prohibited within National Capital Territory of Delhi.”
It further holds that “It is not
in dispute that bio-medical waste is a hazardous waste which can be highly
injurious to human life. That precisely appears to be the reason for its being
included in the list of prohibited/negative list of industries. Admittedly,
incinerators are used in the facility meant for disposal bio-medical waste.
This has also been noted in the guidelines issued by Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) on treatment of common bio-medical waste and installation of
incinerator is a mandatory requirement for such plants. Incineration is a
controlled combustion from where waste is completely oxidized and harmful
microorganisms present in it are destroyed/denatured under high temperature.”
The 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 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 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%”.
It 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 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 metres.
The bench observed that “This is
a mandatory requirement of the guidelines issued by CPCB, that such facility
should be far away from residential and sensitive areas. This requirement needs
to be strictly complied while identifying a suitable site for shifting the
facility of M/s Synergy.”
The judgment is quite relevant
for the upcoming hearing of the Writ Petition (Civil) NO. 9901/2009 on January 23, 2013 which has also been
filed by the resident’s welfare association (RWA) of Sukhdev Vihar, Okhla
against the municipal waste incineration power plant is being operated by
Delhi's 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.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, Convener, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA),
Mb:08002263335,
9818089660, Email:
krishna1715@gmail.com, Web:toxicswatch.blogspot.com
Vimal Monga, President, Sukhdev
Vihar , 9711408421
Asha Arora, Okhla
Anti-incinerator Committee - 9810499277
Okhla Anti-incinerator Committee,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ghoslaokhla
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