News Point: In a snub to Noida Authority the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday, Oct 17, refused to lift the ban on dumping garbage at Sector 138A, Noida.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) refused to lift the ban on dumping of garbage at Sector 138A of Noida and asked the Noida Authority to prepare a plan for shifting of the illegal dump yard to the site earmarked for the purpose.
A Bench headed by NGT Chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar made it clear to the Noida Authority that no dumping of waste can take place at Sector 138A in terms of its order dated October 10, 2017 after the Authority admitted in its affidavit that the site in question was not demarcated for dumping of waste in the Master Plan.
It asked the Noida Authority to prepare the earmarked site for shifting the waste currently lying at Sector 138A.
The NGT Chairman chose to advance the hearing of the case filed by Sector 137 resident Gaurav Choudhury and others from December 6 to October 23.
The Bench turned down Noida Authority lawyer Ravinder Kumar’s repeated requests to allow dumping of waste at Sector 138A for a few months until a solid waste treatment plant was made operational at Section 123 where 25 acre land has been earmarked for it.
“The Sector 138A site is a low lying area and we have ensured that no stench comes out of the site. We have also got the groundwater tested and the water quality is good,” Ravinder Kumar told the Bench.
However, NGT Chairman Justice Kumar rejected the argument, saying, “To say that groundwater will not get contaminated at such a site is the most unscientific thing.”
As the Authority’s lawyer said it would take some more time to make the solid waste management plant operational at the earmarked site, the Bench wondered how many years they would take.
It asked the Authority to set aside a certain portion of the land at the earmarked site at Section 123 for dumping of waste generated in Noida as also shifting the waste lying at Section 138A.
Counsel for Sector 137 residents, Sabah Iqbal Siddiqui told the NGT that Noida Authority was still dumping waste at Sector 138A in violation of the Tribunal’s October 10 order and the officials concerned must be taken to task.
The residents of Noida Sector 137 also told this reporter that the illegal garbage dumping in the neighbourhood has not stopped despite of the NGT stay order.
“I don’t know how the Noida Authority is successful in violating the NGT stay order. I am witness to the garbage being dumped on a continuous basis, even after the stay order. I hope the NGT takes some tough action now to make sure the orders are implemented in letter and spirit,” said Gaurav Gupta, a resident of Paras Tierea.
The Noida authority had on Monday filed an affidavit admitting that the dump yard created by them at Sector 138A was not a designated site and that it was a temporary one.
But they had requested the NGT to lift the ban on dumping of waste in Sector 138A on the ground that the earmarked site in Sector 123 would take a few months to become operational.
Residents of Sector 137 had petitioned the NGT, objecting to the dumping of waste citing its adverse impact on health of thousands of residents.
The NGT had on October 10 issued an interim order directing the authority to immediately stop dumping waste at Sector 138A.
The petitioners accused the Authority of dumping solid waste at an undesignated site in violation of Environment Rules 2016. They alleged that the unauthorised dump yard is a health hazard as it pollutes the air and groundwater and can lead to outbreak of various kinds of diseases.
The Noida authority has also earmarked a 110-acre site in Greater Noida’s Astoli for dumping solid waste. The waste from Greater Noida will also be treated at the Astoli landfill site, which is yet to be ready.
“Why is the Noida Authority violating the Environmental Rules 2016 and using a non-notified landfill site for the purpose of treating and managing solid waste? They have failed to prepare a landfill site for the last 42 years since Noida was created. The Authority should be sensitive to health of Noida residents and shift this illegal dump yard created in the middle of a residential area to the site earmarked for it,” said petitioners’ counsel Siddiqui.
By: Ravi Sinha
