Uttarkashi residents seek action over emission by waste incinerator in Gangotri National Park

Residents of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand have written to the Union government expressing concern over a new waste incinerator in the Gangotri National Park and within the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone. The incinerator, installed a few months ago by the district administration, is burning mixed solid waste disposed in the hills, causing emissions in the region, they said.
In the letter sent by the Himalayi Nagarik Drishti Manch to the secretary of Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Mission for Clean Ganga on Monday, the residents said that the plant has come up near the Gangotri glacier and within the Gangotri National Park where all such polluting industries are prohibited
'The laws are being openly violated by the administration itself. The garbage is being collected and burnt in the incinerator and its toxic ash is being dumped into the valley towards Ganga. In this way, Ganga water is being made toxic with deadly elements (heavy metals etc.) from the source itself,' the letter said. 'We hope that you will take immediate cognizance to shut down this unit and will ensure strict action against those who are damaging the environment of Ganga and the Himalayas.'
Ankur Kansal, an environmental engineer at the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, said that the project has yet to receive permission from the state board.
'We have checked our database and records. This project has not been granted permission yet. They do not have our No Objection Certificate (NOC),' he said. 'As far as I understand, they have applied for a permit but certain queries have been raised about land use category etc, which are yet to be addressed by the project proponent
The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, states that construction of landfill in hilly areas shall be avoided. A transfer station at a suitable enclosed location shall be set up to collect residual waste from the processing facility and inert waste. Suitable land shall be identified in the plain areas, down the hill, within 25 kilometers for setting up sanitary landfill. The residual waste from the transfer station shall be disposed of at this sanitary landfill.
Activist and the head of Uttarkashi Nagar Palika American Puri said that the district administration has ignored the concerns raised by the residents. 'We are extremely unhappy with this move. How can you install a waste incinerator inside a forest and that too in an eco-sensitive zone high up in the Himalayas,' he said. 'Gangotri is not any other place. It is a very sensitive area because of biodiversity and forests here.'
HT had reported on April 8 that the CPCB directed state pollution control boards to adopt a revised classification of industries with a new category, blue. The new category covers 'essential environmental services' required for management of environmental concerns due to domestic/household activities which otherwise will have large littering potential, it said.
Waste to energy plants, certain compressed biogas plants, integrated sanitary landfills, biomining of legacy waste, among others fall under the new blue category, as per documents seen by HT.

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