The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that emissions from the waste-to-energy plant in Okhla were well within the limits set under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.
The pollution monitoring body told a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar that it was regularly monitoring the emissions at the incineration plant and taking immediate action if any complaint is received.
The CPCB also refuted the claim that the plant, which is located in south Delhi’s Sukhdev Vihar, lies in the green belt.
The NGT was told that the land was originally earmarked for setting up of a sewage treatment plant (STP).
“The land, which belongs to the Delhi Development Authority, was given on lease to the New Delhi Municipal Council to establish a STP to treat waste collected from the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Initially, it was termed as the Okhla waste complex, but it never took off,” the lawyer appearing for the CPCB told the Bench.
The tribunal was hearing a petition filed by residents of Sukhdev Vihar, who alleged that the plant was releasing toxic emissions. On the last date of hearing, the tribunal had summoned the Delhi Pollution Control Committee officials, who had given a “consent to operate” certificate to the Okhla plant in 2011.
