Residents in the vicinity of Sector 123 are aghast that NGT has allowed a dumpsite in the locality, disregarding all norms.
Residents in sectors 119, 120, 121 and 122, Noida, are aghast at the authority decision to shift its garbage dumpsite from Sector 138A to Sector 123 in utter disregard to the health risk it poses.
The residents, who held a protest on Sunday, are contemplating all-round action to prevent the proposed landfill in their neighbourhood.
The decision, being taken with a go-ahead from National Green Tribunal (NGT), has come as a shocker for residents here, as it poses the same risk as when it was in Sector 138A.
Abhay Pandey, a resident of Homes 121, a residential society in Sector 121, Noida, told City Spidey that the dumpsite, whether temporary or otherwise, would be hazardous to residents’ health. There are, he said, more than 30,000 families living in sectors 117 through 122. “The dumpsite and the future waste-to-energy plant will only aggravate air pollution and contaminate groundwater,” he added.
“Noida Authority should think about the residents in the area. How can NGT just order a temporary garbage dump in Sector 123 when it had, in 2013, itself said that Noida Authority could not use it either as a dump or as a waste treatment plant until it complied with the municipal solid waste management rules?” Pandey questioned.
“How can Noida Authority dump waste at a site only a few metres from residential clusters and just next to the Hindon riverbed? We are talking to all concerned residents to come out against this illegal move,” Pandey added.
About half a dozen housing complexes and three villages are located near the proposed garbage dump.
Homes 121 is located 175 m from the landfill site in the west and the Hindon floodplains are located a few metres on the eastern side. To the south of the site is a proposed national highway, earlier known as the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway, and to the northwest is Gadi Chaukhandi village, located within 9 m.
According to the solid waste management rules, 2016, a landfill site should be 100 m from a riverbed, and 200 m from water bodies, highways, habitations, public parks and water supply wells. Also, landfills are not permitted near floodplains and should be at least 20 km from airports.
“Look at the pollution levels around the Ghazipur landfill site in Delhi. We will experience the same polluted air, bacteria and hazardous gases if a landfill site is allowed in Sector 123,” Pandey added.
