CPCB Report Condemns Jindal Ecopolis, Reveals Disaster Management Plan Missing

Residents, Environmentalists and Workers Demand Scrapping of Chinese Waste to Energy Incinerator

Construction of Incinerators in Okhla, Ghazipur and Narela-Bawana in Contempt of Supreme Court

April 12, 2012, New Delhi: Ongoing construction of waste incineration based power plants is an irresponsible way of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi government and central government to mask today's waste problems and pass the toxic burden they release on to future generations.

Environmental, resident and labour groups demand that all governments to start eliminating all Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). This means stopping all existing POPs sources, including dioxins. To achieve this, all existing incinerators must be closed, any plans for new incinerators must be scrapped and investment made into other, safer methods of waste disposal.

The 31 page report of the Union Environment Ministry constituted Technical Experts Evaluation Committee of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant was communicated on March 22, 2012. The which is owned by Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant by Prithivraj Jindal’s JITF Urban Infrastructure Limited (Jindal Ecopolis) has violated every rule in the rule book including environmental clearance conditions. It revealed to the Experts Committee in September 2011 that it is using untested and unapproved Chinese incinerator technology in complete violation all laws and environmental clearance of 2007 including its own project design document and environment impact assessment report. The CPCB report, its critique and a Letter to the Prime Minister is attached.

During MCD elections underway, it has come to light that both Bhartiya Janta Party led MCD and Indian National Congress led Delhi government are colluding for the construction of three Dioxins emitting municipal waste incinerator based power plants for 66.9 MW power in Delhi unmindful of disastrous public health consequences disregarding bitter opposition from the residents of Okhla, Ghazipur and Narela-Bawana. In manifest contempt of Supreme Court’s order, Central government’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy is providing Rs 1.5 crore/MW subsidy under its waste to energy policy. 

MCD, Delhi government and central government has shown unpardonable callousness towards hazardous emissions from municipal incinerators that cause serious environmental and health problems both to people living near them and thousands of kilometres from the source. These projects are destroying the livelihood of about 3.5 lakh waste recycling workers and valuable resource material for compost that is required to be treated by composting/anaerobic digestion/vermin composting/other biological processing for stabilization as per Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules.

A 14 page critique of the CPCB’s report was released at the Press Conference. The weakest point about the report is that it has done the technical evaluation of the plant after it has become functional. It should have been done prior to granting of permission for construction of waste incinerator based power plant. Representatives of GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) led by Dr. Juergen Porst, Senior Advisor stressed the need for a Disaster Management Plan in the very first meeting of the CPCB’s Technical Expert Committee. This does not find mention in the recommendations of the report. This finds reference in the minutes of the meeting annexed with the report. It underlines the possibility of disaster from the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant, which is situated in a residential area. It is noteworthy that a hazardous plant in Bhopal’s residential area that led to world worst industrial disaster in 1984 also did not have any disaster management plan. 

In the report, Dr A B Akolkar, Director, CPCB emphasized that as per Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules ‘biodegrdable waste’ is to be treated using biological method rather than deriving RDF or by incineration as is being done by Jindal Ecopolis. This clearly demonstrates that the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant violates the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules framed under Environment Protection Act, 1986. 

The Review of Technical Evaluation by Anant Trivedi, Member, Technical Evaluation Committee, CPCB reads: "The Okhla plant has a capacity of 2050 tpd of domestic waste input. However the plant design allows upto 10,000 tpd of input for incineration. Toxic bottom ash quantity produced will be 20-30% of input. This amounts to at least 410 tpd rising to a maximum of 3,000 tpd. Additionally there will be toxic flyash of about 10% of the bottom ash.None of the landfill sites have the capacity to take in so much toxic waste and mulba has been dumped every where including all public spaces." He asks, "so what is proposed to safeguard public health from this toxic substance?

The report apprehended that the information that is submitted to the experts committee of CPCB might be used in the on-going case in the Delhi High Court. It makes a shocking revelation that although High Court has been hearing the case since 2009, the project proponent did not inform the court about gross deviations from the project design plan envisaged in the EIA report. As per the minutes of the second meeting of the technical experts committee, non-cooperative approach of the senior officials of Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Incinerator Plant was condemned on August 11, 2011. Representatives of GTZ underlined that there was lack of transparency with regard to environmental and health impact on the neighborhood residents. It was also noted that the fugitive emissions and the expected emission of Dioxins and Furans has not been quantified. The characteristic of ash and required standards was not mentioned. Prof. T R Sreekrishnan, Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology stated that disposal option for incineration instead of bio-methanation proposed for green waste is in violation of what was mentioned in the EIA report.

CPCB report steers clear of the fact that fiscal incentives for projects of power generation from MSW through new technologies violates Supreme Court’s Order: The court has put a stay on subsidy for waste to energy projects except 5 pilot projects based on Biomethanation technology. It has come to light that none of Delhi’s three projects are based on biomethanation technology and are not the pilot projects approved by the court. The Timarpir-Okhla project is getting incentives from the government although the apex court has put a stay on subsidy. Although the court’s order applies to Delhi’s other waste to energy incinerator projects as well but plants in Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur are under rapid construction by Ramky Company and GMR Company for generating 36 MW from 4000 tons of MSW in two phases and 10 MW from 1300 tons of MSW respectively with impunity.  The speakers at the Press Conference were Prof. SS Khanna, former Senior Advisor, Planning Commission, Dr Usha Ramanathan, Noted Jurist, Kavita Krishnan, Member, Central Committee, CPI(ML) Liberation & Editor, Liberation, Gopal Krishna, Convener, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), Shashi Bhushan Pandit, All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh (AIKMM), Dr Kehar Singh, Secretary, East Delhi, CPI and CBR Nair, General Secretary, Residents Welfare Association, Ghazipur.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, Convener, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660, Email: krishna1715@gmail.com, Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com, Shashi Bhushan Pandit, All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh (AIKMM), Mb: 9968413109, Asha Arora, Okhla Anti-incinerator Committee, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ghoslaokhla