The Noida Authority has decided to set up a landfill site in Sector-123 and started digging the vacant plot situated there.
This step has been undertaken by the authority after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued an interim order on May 29 directing it to immediately stop dumping waste at a forest located in Sector 54.
The NGT’s order had been passed in response to a petition filed by nearby RWAs of various sectors of the vicinity. noida news
Rajesh Singh, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of Noida Authority told City Spidey that earlier the authority had planned to develop only a waste-to-energy plant at the Sector 123 site, but after the NGT order, it has been left with no choice but to make a landfill site at the plot.
“In some portion of the 25 acres of land we will make a waste to energy plant and the remaining portion will be converted as a landfill site for dumping the city’s garbage,’ Singh said.
He also said that remediation of the garbage (disposal of garbage by breaking it into smaller parts) will also be conducted at the site and soon a machine will be installed there regarding this purpose.
Singh further added that NGT have given the authority ten days time to find a new landfill site and thus garbage dumping will begin at the Sector-123 site from June 9.
Earlier, the Noida Authority was dumping the city’s garbage at a vacant plot at Sector-138 A but residents of nearby areas had moved NGT against it. As a result, the NGT had ordered the authority to stop its activities at the site.
Later on, the authority had chosen the vacant plot at sector-68 for purposes of dumping garbage. However, protests erupted in this area also and the authority was once again forced to look for another site.
The next site which the authority tried to use for dumping the city’s waste was a forest located in Sector-54. However, the RWAs of the nearby area protested against the move and filed a case in NGT. Later on, the NGT had put a stay on waste dumping on that site also.
The authority thus has no other option rather than to use the vacant plot at Sector-123 as a landfill site.
"We have received permission from NGT to use this site for dumping the 600 ton waste generated in the city,” Singh said.
On the other hand, the authorities’ decision has triggered the panic mode among residents of Sector 123 and nearby areas.
Anupam Oberoi, a resident of Sector 122, has claimed that protests will be conducted tomorrow at the site chosen by the authority. He further added that the residents have even decided to take legal action and are also planning to approach the NGT regarding this matter.
Abhay Pandey, a resident of Homes-121, a society located in Sector 121, said that the NGT had ordered the authority to get clearance certificates from the Union environment ministry and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) before building the landfill site at sector 123. He alleged that the authority hadn’t gathered these clearance certificates still.
"According to the solid waste management rules, 2016, a landfill site should be situated at a distance of 100 meters from a riverbed, and 200 meters from water bodies, highways, habitations, public parks and water supply wells. However, the dumping site is located at a distance of no more than 175 meters from our society," Pandey further added.
“In future it can become as dangerous as the Ghazipur landfill site and lead to health problems for the residents. We will not let the authority set it up in this area at any cost,” he added.
