‘Best solution’ for garbage is a stinking problem for many

Residents living near waste-to-energy plants complain of noise, smell, pollution and health problems; plant operators insist emissions are under control

May 23, 2016 12:00 am | Updated September 12, 2016 08:00 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

power:(clockwise from top) Narela-Bawana waste-to-energy plant; inside view of the station; Ghazipur landfill and power plant; Timarpur-Okhla plant.Photos: R.V. Moorthy, Sandeep Saxena

power:(clockwise from top) Narela-Bawana waste-to-energy plant; inside view of the station; Ghazipur landfill and power plant; Timarpur-Okhla plant.Photos: R.V. Moorthy, Sandeep Saxena

Using the city’s garbage to produce electricity sounds like the best solution for Delhi’s mounting solid waste woes, but residents living near the waste-to energy plants are not happy.

With two waste-to-energy plants already functioning and a third expected to be commissioned in June, Delhi will have the capacity to use up almost half of the garbage that is generated daily.

The three municipal corporations, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board send 8,370 tonnes of garbage to the three landfills at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur, and the waste processing site at Narela-Bawana.

Waste-to-energy plants

The plants at Timarpur-Okhla and Ghazipur use 1,300 tonnes of municipal solid waste each to produce 16 MW and 12 MW of electricity respectively.

The Narela-Bawana waste-to-energy plant is likely to start functioning in the first week of June, after almost three years of delays. Once commissioned, it will be the biggest such plant in Delhi, using 1,300 tonnes of waste per day to produce 24MW of power.

The plant had been languishing since 2013 as the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the company that the project was outsourced to, Ramky Group, couldn’t see eye-to-eye on sharing revenue from the sale of power. The plant only got a push when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked authorities to speed things up, in view of the dire conditions at the landfills.

While solid waste experts and the NGT have touted these plants as the ideal solutions to Delhi’ s trash troubles, residents around the facilities have raised concerns about the environmental and health impact.

Health problems

When The Hindu visited Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur recently, the stench from the garbage coupled with the heat was making life difficult for locals.

“I’ve developed trouble breathing since the plant was set up. We raised our concerns with the authorities that the plant was too close to our village, but no one heard us,” said 60-year-old Sahib Singh, a resident of Bawana village.

The Narela-Bawana plant is supposed to be fed by solid waste from two zones of the North Corporation – Civil Lines and Rohini – but since the plant got delayed, about 4.5 lakh tonnes of garbage has accumulated at the site.

Another Bawana village resident, Vipin Kumar, said that the stench from the garbage and the dust from the processing was already affecting the health of locals.

“We can’t imagine how bad it will get when the power plant actually starts working. Already there have been cases of young people developing asthma,” said Mr. Kumar.

Bawana councillor Devender Kumar, who is from the Opposition Congress, said that the ruling-BJP in the Corporation had assured locals that the plant would not have piles of garbage in the open and that there would be no pollution.

“But, it has become a health hazard. Firstly, when the garbage trucks come, they drop trash all along the way as they are not covered properly. Then, there is the air pollution and the deterioration in the groundwater,” said Mr. Kumar.

Officials at the plant, however, say they have taken all possible precautions to make sure it does not pollute.

“The gas produced will be treated with lime and activated carbon before being released. This removes traces of toxic pollutants from the gas,” explained D.B.S.S.R Sastry, an associate vice-president of Ramky Group.

Meanwhile, in East Delhi’s Ghazipur, where the plant has been operational on trial basis for months, residents have written to the National Human Rights Commission and the NGT over the air and noise pollution.

A resident of DDA flats in Ghazipur, Ratan Barua, said that the noise pollution from the plant has given locals, including him, sleepless nights. “I couldn’t sleep for days and had to go to a doctor for help. Others have developed respiratory problems. We have written to the authorities, but nothing has happened so far,” said Mr. Barua.

Highest standards

Operators of the plant, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), have denied the allegations, saying that the emissions are under control.

A company spokesperson said the plant was India’s first such facility compliant with Euro norms, with the “highest standards of pollution control”. The plant also has continuous emission monitoring systems that can be seen at a visitors’ gallery.

In fact, the spokesperson said that the plant was mitigating the problem of greenhouse gas production at the landfill.

“The air emissions from the plant are far cleaner than the prevailing air. An independent third party test has verified that the PM emission from the plant chimney is 9.4 ppm, which is over thirty times cleaner than the ambient air at the dumpsite,” said the spokesperson.

I’ve developed breathing problems since the [Narela-Bawana] plant was set up. We raised concerns that the plant was too close to our village, but no one heard us

Sahib Singh,Resident of Bawana

Firms operating the plants say they are following the strictest guidelines to control pollution

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