A little more than three years after the last attempt to take in more waste and generate more electricity at the waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at Okhla fell flat when faced with resistance from residents in the area, Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Company has once again initiated the process to obtain environment clearance for expansion.
The expansion entails generation of 40 MW of energy by taking in another 1,000 TPD (tonnes per day) of waste. A spokesperson for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that the Okhla WTE plant currently has the capacity to process 1,950 TPD of waste and generate 21 MW of electricity.
The company had written to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) earlier this month to provide authorisation that will enable it to conduct a public hearing and proceed with obtaining environment clearance. The public hearing is to be held next month.
The fresh attempt at expansion was spurred by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s visit to the plant. The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) report prepared for expansion states that the LG visited the plant on June 6, “thereafter, officials have taken steps for pending expansion of the project to utilise additional 1,000-1,200 tonnes of waste”.
According to a communication from the LG’s office issued after the visit last month, he directed officials to “expedite the process of conducting public hearing and remove any hurdle in increasing garbage consumption capacity of the plant”.
The hurdle is that residents in the area do not want a WTE plant close to their homes. The DPCC imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Company last year for air pollution – emission monitoring showed that dioxins and furans exceeded permissible limits. The DPCC also said that power generation (18.5 to 21.5 MW) was less than the plant’s capacity of 23 MW.
S Khan, president of the Sukhdev Vihar Residents Association, said: “There is a case pending in the Supreme Court in the matter of the existing plant. We do not want this expansion to happen. The last time they attempted to hold a public hearing, we protested against it.” The company attempted to hold a public hearing in January 2019, but “public hearing proceedings could not be started”, according to the EIA.
“The plant has affected us for many years now. There is the smell of garbage and of burning waste, which intensifies in the evening. There are people living all around, it is not just Sukhdev Vihar. Jamia Milia is close by, there are hospitals close by…,” said P P Sharma, who runs a shop. Residents are not just opposed to the expansion, but also want the existing plant to be relocated.
M A Baig, who moved to the area a little more than six months ago, cited repeated visits to the hospital. “In the morning, the ash from the plant settles down on our balcony. My children and wife are dealing with respiratory issues. They have been on medication for the last few months,” he said.
It was not only the residents who raised concerns about expansion. When the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) amended the environment clearance for the plant in 2020, allowing it to increase power generation from 16 MW to 23 MW without increasing waste intake, it imposed additional conditions – “Any further expansion beyond 23 MW power generation capacity shall not be permitted at the same site considering the proximity of Sukhdev Vihar Residential Colony located at less than 100 m from the site”. The draft EIA states that “the expansion project will be accommodated in the existing plant premises. No additional land is required”.
When contacted, a representative of the company refused comment saying that he was not authorised to speak. The company is part of the Jindal group.
When asked about the need for expansion, an MCD spokesperson said: “MCD as a whole is short of processing capacity for daily generation of around 11,000 TPD of MSW.”