EC for Peringamala plant: State govt in a tough spot

  • | Sunday | 15th July, 2018

MoEF issued the communication to MoUD based on the recommendations of the expert group.The state government has proposed waste-to-energy plant in seven locations in the state, most of which already have either a landfill or waste management plant which exempts such places from going through environmental clearance process. MoEF had recently asked the department of forests to submit a reply regarding Bandhwari waste-to-energy plant in Haryana after local villagers and green activists raised the issue of violation of norms in selection of Bandhwari as the site for the plant. which are ecologically sensitive sites and require proper environmental management. However that exemption will not apply to Peringamala and for a place marked as ecologically fragile area and noted for its rich forest reserve, getting EC will be a tough task.The project is being mooted in the district after a similar proposal led to widespread protests in Haryana. EC is exempted if the activities of composting, RDF production and waste-to-energy plant (up to a capacity of 15MW) are proposed at an existing landfill site, as it does not attract the provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.An expert group was constituted by MoEF after a request was raised to revisit the need for prior environmental clearance for solid waste management facilities.

Thiruvananthapuram: The ministry of environment and forests had foreseen the dangers behind what the state government just did in identifying Peringammala as the spot for waste-to-energy plant; looking for remote, uninhabited spots for waste plants to negate local protests.A communication sent by the secretary of ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to the secretary of ministry of urban development (MoUD) in July, 2017, says, “It has been seen that locating a landfill site or municipal solid waste disposal site is a contentious issue and there is a tendency to locate them far from the habitation but near forests, rivers, ponds, wetlands and low-lying areas, etc. which are ecologically sensitive sites and require proper environmental management. Since, the forests, rivers, ponds, wetlands and low-lying areas are critical from environmental point of view, it may not be appropriate to exempt this activity of municipal soild waste disposal site or landfill site from the requirement of prior environmental clearance ,”.This means that the proposal for waste-to-energy plant at Peringammala, which is marked as ecologically-sensitive area, will have to go through the process of environmental clearance.The letter clearly mentions that if activities, including incineration, production of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and waste-to-energy plant are proposed along with the new site for solid waste disposal or landfill, it is advisable to obtain an integrated environmental clearance (EC) for these projects. EC is exempted if the activities of composting, RDF production and waste-to-energy plant (up to a capacity of 15MW) are proposed at an existing landfill site, as it does not attract the provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.An expert group was constituted by MoEF after a request was raised to revisit the need for prior environmental clearance for solid waste management facilities. MoEF issued the communication to MoUD based on the recommendations of the expert group.The state government has proposed waste-to-energy plant in seven locations in the state, most of which already have either a landfill or waste management plant which exempts such places from going through environmental clearance process. However that exemption will not apply to Peringamala and for a place marked as ecologically fragile area and noted for its rich forest reserve, getting EC will be a tough task.The project is being mooted in the district after a similar proposal led to widespread protests in Haryana. MoEF had recently asked the department of forests to submit a reply regarding Bandhwari waste-to-energy plant in Haryana after local villagers and green activists raised the issue of violation of norms in selection of Bandhwari as the site for the plant.

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