Activists in Delhi seek emission data for waste-to-energy plant

Locals and activists said such data was critical in understanding the impact of the plant on the environment and public health

Activists and locals in Okhla have approached the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the Delhi LG, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and the Delhi chief secretary, seeking the Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) data to be made public for the Okhla Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant, where pitch-black smoke was seen emanating in the past 48 hours, purportedly due to a fire.

Activists say the plant has already been fined multiple times in the past and continues to violate environmental norms, which is a health hazard for locals. (HT Archive)

In a letter written on Tuesday, environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said the plant has already been fined multiple times in the past and continues to violate environmental norms, which is a health hazard for locals.

“Residents in the area have been suffering due to the lack of stringent action taken against the plant and its operators, despite numerous complaints and reports filed by concerned citizens. I request that the WtE plant releases the Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) data on a daily basis and makes it available to the general public, which can then be tracked by independent experts,” said Kandhari in her letter, stating such information was critical in understanding the impact of the plant on the environment and public health.

“Given the seriousness of this issue, I would appreciate your urgent attention to this matter,” she added.

Locals on Monday had approached the deputy commissioner seeking action against the plant, from where substantial smoke and a loud jet-like noise was heard for several hours. Vinayak Malik, secretary at the nearby Sukhdev Vihar Welfare Association, said the smoke was coming from the plant and not its chimneys, indicating a possible fire. This was accompanied by a constant jet-like noise, which was being heard till Tuesday afternoon.

“We saw smoke coming on Monday afternoon which only stopped around midnight. There was considerable pollution in the area, which in addition to the noise made it extremely difficult for residents living near the plant,” he said, adding that most people decided to stay indoors.

Malik said that despite the plant violating the norms set for dioxins and furans in the past, data is still not publicly available on it, while monthly inspections mandated by the NGT in February 2017 have also stopped.

Ashutosh Ahluwalia, a resident of Sukhdev Vihar said the incident highlights the dangers of having such a plant in close proximity to neighbourhoods.

“We see smoke each day and unless there is data that is available on the dioxin and furan levels, how can we know the plant is not polluting beyond the prescribed standards?” he asked.

In February 2017, the Okhla WtE was fined ₹25 lakh by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) after Sukhdev Vihar residents had filed a petition questioning the plant’s proximity to the residential areas. The NGT had found the plant was not adhering to several pollution-related benchmarks, notably for dioxins and furans, a carcinogenic byproduct of chemicals released post-combustion from waste incineration.

More recently, it was fined ₹5 lakh by the DPCC in August 2021, when several parameters, including dioxin and furan values, were found to be around 10 times the permissible limit.

The WtE plant, which has been operational since 2012, had in January received the nod from the expert appraisal committee (EAC) under the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) for further expansion from its existing 23 MW capacity to 40 MW.

Meanwhile, a senior DPCC official said an enquiry was carried out by them, following complaints from locals in the last 24 hours. The operator informed them that a scheduled boiler maintenance was being carried by the WtE, for which they had informed the concerned police station, the boiler department and other relevant government departments.

“We were informed that the boiler maintenance is in progress and was expected to finish on Tuesday. After maintenance is over, pressurised steam will be flushed intermittently until cleaning parameters are achieved. The operator has informed that this process generates intermittent noise for some time and also emits water vapours, which creates the illusion of smoke,” the official said.

While the LG house said it was yet to see such a letter, the CAQM and Delhi chief secretary did not respond to queries.