NOIDA: Defying prohibitory orders , nearly 500 residents marched to the proposed waste-to-energy plant site in Sector 123 and staged a sit-in on Sunday. A group of protesters also tried to fill the trench dug by the Noida Authority in the past two days.The local residents marched from Parthala Khanjarpur village to the site around 10 am and held a sit-in there till 4pm. However, no official of Noida Authority was present. The residents said they would continue their protest on Monday.Anupam Oberoi, a resident of Sector 122, said they were left with no option but to protest. “We had requested the Noida Authority to shift the waste-to-energy plant to a distant location as this area is thickly populated. They have ignored our repeated request. We are also planning to file a petition in NGT and the high court,” he said.The residents who protested belong to high-rise societies like Ajnara Homes Sector 121, Gaur Grandeur Sector 119, Prateek Laurel Sector 120 and also from villages Behlolpur, Sarfabad, Sorkha, Parthala Khanjarpur, Ghari Chaukhandi, etc. Holding tricolor in their hands, they raised slogans and demanded that the waste plant be shifted from the densely populated area.90-year-old Kala Devi, a resident of Parthala Khanjarpur, who walk with the help of crutches, joined the protest on Sunday. “I know I am very old but I am concerned about the future generation. Whatever the Authority is making at this place is not good. I protest for the safety of young boys and girls,” she said. Chhavi Methi , a resident of Sector 50, said that it is a matter of concern for all the residents living in the adjacent societies. “The dumping of garbage will spoil the water table. The plant will affect the residents’ health and this is a matter of concern,” she said.Members of Samajwadi Party also joined the protest and demanded that the Noida Authority reconsider the decision to construct a waste plant at the site. “We feel that the Noida Authority has the strong backing of the government. The residents have tried their best but this has not yielded any good result,” said Anil Yadav, a Samajwadi Party worker.On Sunday, the Noida Authority stopped the digging work and removed the earthmovers from the spot. A Noida Authority official said that the waste-to-energy plant will use state-of-the-art technology that would produce ‘zero emission, zero effluent and zero landfill discharge.’ He said that the safety parameters will be strictly followed and the project would be completed in 15-18 months.In 2013, the Noida Authority had proposed a sanitary landfill on 25 acres of land in Sector 123 to dispose the city’s municipal solid waste. However, the authority changed its stand and promised to shift the site when people who had flats in nearby housing complexes—sectors 119, 120, 121 and 122—filed a petition at the NGT objecting to chosen site. Thereafter, the Noida Authority started dumping a major part of the municipal solid waste generated in the city in a vacant plot in Sector 138A.In October this year, the NGT directed the authority to stop dumping waste illegally in Sector 138A and set up a waste-to-energy plant. This directive led to the authority revisiting its decision to use the Sector 123 site, drawing flak from the residents.“We have already constructed a boundary wall around the 25-acre landfill site. We plan to develop a green belt and then the waste-to-energy plant will be set up. The green belt will ensure that residents do not face any trouble,” a Noida Authority official had said earlier.

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