Will launch stir if waste-to-charcoal project not shifted: Faridabad villagers

Residents of several villages held a panchayat at Mothuka village in the district today to reiterate their opposition over the move to set up a waste-to-charcoal project on the land near the village. They announced that a committee would be set up to launch a stir if the move was not withdrawn.

Claiming that the plant will result in acute pollution and filthy civic conditions, Mohan Bansal, sarpanch, Mothuka village, said: "The majority of residents are against the project and the issue will be raised at various platforms and with people in power, including MP and MLAs, as part of the strategy discussed at the meeting today."

Can't live in filthy conditions

The plant will result in pollution and filthy civic conditions. The majority of residents are against the project and the issue will be raised at various platforms and with people in power, including MP and MLAs. Mohan Bansal, Sarpanch, Mothuka village

He said besides Mothuka, residents from Arua, Nangal, Hansa, Faijjupur, Sahupura Khadar, Dulhepur, Chandpur, Bahadurpur, Chhainsa, Fatehpur, Maujpur, Gadkhera, KoraliI and Dayalpur, who assembled here, resolved to oppose the project. He said the only reason for the opposition was the fact that the living conditions in the area might get vitiated as hundreds of tonnes of civic waste or garbage would be dumped close to the villages, polluting both air and water.

Describing the government decision as unjustified, Raghuraj, a former sarpanch of Faijjupur village, said 20 acres here had been acquired for setting up a power generation plant about two decades ago with the condition that it could be used for other purposes. He said the villagers welcomed setting up any plant or industry that would not pollute but provide employment to locals. He said though a memorandum had been submitted to the authorities already, the ongoing survey work for the plant had resulted in unrest and anger among the residents.

The authorities have already launched a survey of the land where the state government has approved the proposal of setting up the first waste-to-charcoal plant. An MOU has been signed between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVNL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited, and the Municipal Corporations of Faridabad and Gurugram in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, CM Nayab Singh Saini on July 21. The proposal had been seen as a major relief for the civic body which is faced with the problems related to the disposal and processing of the civic waste, as the plant aims to convert the waste into charcoal. The civic bodies of Faridabad and Gurugram had been in a bind over the issue of the dumping of unprocessed waste at the landfill site of Bandhwari village due to a ban by the NGT. The cost of the proposed plant is Rs 500 crore and will be funded mainly by NVVNL, it is reported.

Padam Bhushan, Executive Engineer, MCF, said while a survey had been on, he said the final decision depended on the authorities of the NVVNL and the state government.