Faridabad power plant: NGT seeks report on fly ash release

NEW DELHI: National Green Tribunal has recently asked for a report on a plea alleging that a thermal power plant operated by the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd in Faridabad district was releasing fly ash in the open .
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and Faridabad district magistrate to look into the matter, take appropriate action and submit an action taken report within a month.
“The pollution control board will be the nodal agency for compliance and coordination. A copy of this order with the complaint should be sent to the Faridabad district magistrate and the pollution control board,” the bench said.
The tribunal reiterated that order was binding as a decree of court and non-compliance was actionable, including prosecution, in terms of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. The matter was listed for hearing on January 7, 2020.
NGT was hearing a plea by a Haryana resident, Sagar Bhutani, who alleged that the thermal power plant at Sector 49 in Faridabad was releasing fly ash in the environment, which was causing breathing problems. The applicant also highlighted newspaper reports in support of the allegation.
The plant was shut down in 2011, but, in 2016, the government gave permission for transportation of the fly ash to other places for construction.
The residents of various localities in the vicinity of the dumpsite near the starting point of Faridabad-Gurgaon highway complained of breathing and other problems caused due to pollution, the petition added.
“Several lakh tonnes of fly ash dumped near Sector 49 in Faridabad is causing severe air pollution in more than six colonies and villages. It was dumped by the thermal power plant operated by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of the Haryana government,” the plea submitted.