Note:National Green Tribunal (NGT) order of August 14, 2003
which put a stop to all illegal constructions in a 10-km radius of Okhla Bird
Sanctuary at the Okhla barrage over Yamuna River on Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border
is applicable to the waste incineration based power plant of M/s Jindal Urban
Infrastructure Limited (JUIL), a company of M/s Jindal Saw Group Limited that
is facing bitter opposition from residents, environmental groups and waste
pickers of Delhi.
Not only that there is a large lake which lies sandwiched between Okhla village towards the west and Gautam Budh Nagar towards the east, the impact of the plant on this water source was not been disclosed in the Environment Impact Assessment report of the plant. This plant does not have the required mandatory clearances from the National Board for Wildlife. The sanctuary is approachable from Mathura Road (NH-2), via Sarita Vihar going towards NOIDA.
Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
The Uttar Pradesh government has said a waste-to-energy plant is
running within the 10-km eco-sensitive zone of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary
without the approval of the National Board for Wildlife (NBW).
In an affidavit before the National Green Tribunal, the UP government
has said that action can be taken for this violation. Its inspection
has found that the plant lies 2km from the sanctuary.
The plant falls in the Delhi government’s area of jurisdiction while the sanctuary lies in UP.
“The tribunal may pass an order through which the provisions of eco-sensitive zone can be invoked,” the affidavit said.
The plant burns waste to produce electricity at Sukhdev Vihar in
Okhla. The sanctuary is located where the Yamuna leaves Delhi and enters
UP. On May 8, 1990, the UP government declared 400 hectares of the land
as a bird sanctuary (protected area) though it hasn’t declared the
10-km area around the sanctuary an eco-sensitive zone.
But citing an SC order and frequent guidelines issued by the ministry
of environment and forests, it said, “It is absolutely clear that the
plant should have taken clearance from the NBW.” The plant does have
clearance from the forest ministry.
The UP government filed the affidavit after a group of residents from
Sukhdev Vihar filed an application and alleged that emissions from the
plant were hazardous for the sanctuary. Hearing an earlier application
filed by the same group, the tribunal on Tuesday had warned that the
plant can face closure if it did not improve pollution-control measures
in three weeks.
Both matters will be heard on October 10.
A committee formed by the UP government has advised the 1-km area
around the sanctuary be declared an eco-sensitive zone. The
recommendations will be placed before the UP cabinet before being sent
to the Centre .
Post a Comment