NGT notice to Faridabad over waste burning at transfer station

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the district administration over the incidence of burning of waste at one of the transfer station-cum-dumping yards in the city. This is the first such notice to be issued by the NGT over the matter this year, even though burning of waste is a common sight at the site and is claimed to be one of the prominent reasons for the air pollution in the area.

The tribunal, which heard a petition filed by a local on Wednesday, has directed the office of the DC and the regional office of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to set up a committee to investigate the matter and submit the report within a month. The matter was raised with the NGT in June this year.

Ketan Suri, a member of the ward committee of Sector 30-33 here, said he filed a complaint against the matter at the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) in August 2023, but no action was taken. He said many residents of the area had filed complaints prior to the lodging of the petition with the NGT, stating that the problem of burning of the garbage dumped at the transfer station at Etmadpur village in the Palla area was a regular occurrence. Sure said, the complainants had claimed that a 4-5 km radius around the site had become a ‘gas chamber’ due to the constant burning, but the MCF authorities chose to ignore the inconvenience and harassment being faced by the residents.

“Though we were told that a penalty was being imposed on the agency given the contract of disposal of the waste, the issue of persistent burning of garbage had failed to be curbed,’’ he said. With as many as four to five such incidents each month, the residents were left with no option but to call the fire brigade to douse the fire, said Vivek Sachdeva, a resident of Springfield Colony in Sector 30 here. He said despite the imposition of the GRAP norms, the problem of poor civic conditions and burning of waste was yet to be addressed properly. Meanwhile the MCF claimed that the drive against violations of the pollution norms was on.

Bishan Tewatia, an MCF official, said the corporation had issued a total of 3,236 challans since January 1 of this year. These included 286 challans for the burning of waste in the open, till November 28. The total amount of the penalty imposed for violations in the period was Rs 43.57 lakh; it was added. Dr Gaurav Antil, Additional Commissioner, MCF, said a drive had already been on as per the directions of the CAQM, and various measures had been implemented to keep a tab on improper waste disposal, including construction and demolition material.

Dinesh Kumar, Regional Officer, HSPCB, said besides a vigil, several notices had been issued and generator sets sealed in the past week.