NGT trashes plea against Bainguinim waste plant

Green court says scientific waste management facility needed for protection of environment

THE GOAN NETWORK | SEPTEMBER 26, 2020, 12:57 AM IST

PANAJI
The petition opposing the setting up of garbage treatment plant at Bainguinim in Old Goa found no favour with the National Green Tribunal which said that a scientific waste management facility is needed for protection of the environment.

While disposing a petition filed by the Bainguinim Citizens Forum, the principal bench of the NGT found that the concerns raised by the petitioners were unfounded.

“There is nothing to show that any construction was pre existing when the site was selected. There is nothing to show when the constructions said to be in existence came up. There is nothing to show that any complaint against the violation of the EC (Environmental Clearance) conditions has been made,” the NGT ruled.

“The waste management facility being necessary and the site having been duly selected, acquisition having been done for the purpose, having been upheld, no fault can possibly be found with the grant of EC,” the NGT bench of Adarsh Kumar Goel, SP Wangdi and Dr Nagin Nanda said.

“All that is required is that conditions of EC must be complied with and all environmental safeguards must be duly observed which should be monitored by the State PCB (Pollution Control Board). Subject to this being done, we do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned EC. The appeal is dismissed except for the direction that the EC conditions be duly followed and all environmental norms observed which should be monitored by the State PCB,” the NGT bench said.

The Bainguinim Citizens Forum had filed a petition alleging that the project site is against the criteria laid down under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

They pointed out that as against the required distance of 200 to 500 meters from the habitation, in the present case the nearest habitation is only 35 meters away, a hospital is 239 meters away, a school is 291 meters away and that there are on-going construction projects on the western side.

“There is no space for the buffer zone or no-development zone on the boundary of the project site. The current project has concealed the construction of dense settlement around the project,” the citizens alleged.

They claimed that the issue was raised during the public hearing but the project proponent stated that when the site was acquired, a request was made to the TCP to freeze the land development within 500 meters.

They also alleged that the EIA report was faulty, by concealing material facts and without considering the environmental impact on the air and noise and that no analysis was carried out for an alternative site or source of water and raw material.

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