Why is biomedical waste plant still in our neighbourhood, ask Govandi residents

As they are forced to inhale thick black smoke released by the cityrsquos lone biomedical waste treatment plant at Govandi every day residents living in its vicinity have threatened to move the National Green Tribunal against the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board if the facility is not shifted out of the city limits by this monthend Earlier the state had ordered the plant to be moved out of Mumbai limits by February 2022Why is biomedical waste plant still in our neighbourhood ask Govandi residentsResidents from Govandi Mankhurd Deonar and surrounding areas have filed repeated complaints against SMS Envoclean Pvt Ltd since June 2020 alleging that toxic air and black shoot are being emitted from the facility particularly due to the burning of personal protective equipment PEE kits causing health problems Acting on their complaints the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board MPCB had directed the firm and contractor to improve their scrubber technology to control the emission of thick black smoke But locals say the plant has been brazenly coughing out shootfilled smokeTrucks at the waste plant at Govandi on MondaySMS Envoclean has been appointed by the BMC to deal with the cityrsquos biomedical refuse including the reject being generated from COVID facilities When the BMC and MPCB gave a contract to the company in 2009 to treat Mumbairsquos biomedical waste the plan to was to have three such facilities But the Govandi plant had to take all the load as the civic body was unable to find places for the other two plants Over the years toxic emissions from the plant at Govandi East became a serious health concern for the localsIn October and November 2020 the Maharashtra environment department had directed that the plant be relocated 70 km outside of Mumbai to Khalapur by February 2022 While the deadline was later extended to May 2022 locals said there is little or no indication that the move is taking placeThe initial directive of the state environment department followed a legal notice from locals to MPCB ldquoDeonar Govandi Shivaji Nagar Baiganwadi and Mankhurd among others are surrounded by toxic air as a result of the Deonar dumping ground the biomedical waste treatment plant is also a major contributor to the problemrdquo said local resident and lawyer Saif Alam who is representing the residentsThe plant came up in 2009 but the problem has worsened in the past 23 years say localsAlam said they also got assurances from environment minister Aaditya Thackeray ldquoWersquove all been very supportive and have waited patiently Nonetheless for hours at a time black smoke can be seen coming out of the facilityrsquos chimney We will wait until the end of May this year and if the facility is not relocated to Khalapur or outside of city limits we will file a case against the facility and MPCB in the NGTrdquo he saidlsquoAdding to TB woesrsquoShaikh Faiyaz who lives in the vicinity of the plant said ldquoWard M East Govandi Deonar is known as a TB hotspot in the city and many people have been diagnosed with asthma Above all they have been suffering as a result of the companyrsquos thick smoke which is exacerbating their health problems Wersquove even posted videos and photos on social media showing thick black smoke erupting from the chimney Following our Twitter posts and complaints the CPCB forwarded the directive to the MPCB to take action against the violators and requested an action taken report but no MPCB officials have visited in these two days We are considering filing a lawsuit very soonrdquolsquoWill verify complaintsrsquoAs locals take to social media MPCB promised action ldquoWe understand that residents must have seen black smoke however it is not necessary that it is hazardous They have been following all stipulated norms and We will still send a team a verify the complaints by residents The shifting of the facility is currently in the process The environment clearance for setting up the facility in Khalapur is awaited Until they get the clearance the facility cannot be shifted thererdquo said Ashok Shingare member secretaryMPCBlsquoItrsquos a gimmickrsquoAmit Nilawar director SMS Envoclean called the opposition to the plant a gimmick by some people ldquoThis is a phenomenon well known worldwide as lsquoNIMBYrsquo an acronym for lsquoNot In My Backyardrsquo There are some SRA buildings coming up in the area however the opposition and objection to the BMW treatment facility is to help boost the real estate prices The process of shifting will cost us a huge sum the land itself cost us R10 crore However we have already given a commitment and so we are working in all our capacity to shift the facilityrdquo said NilawarHe added ldquoAbout shifting the facility to Khalapur almost 90 per cent of the process is done including the public hearing there Two months back we have already submitted a proposal and all relevant documents to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Now we are awaiting their call when we will be giving them a presentation on the same We will need an environmental clearance for shifting the facility to Khalapurrdquo