Skip to main content

Delhiites protest against proposed expansion of "toxic" garbage power plant

By A Representative
The Joint Action Committee, which is fighting against the Government of India decision to go ahead with the expansion of the Jindal Garbage Plant in Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi, has said that it will “not tolerate polluted air” and continue fighting against “the poisonous plant”. In a statement issued following a massive demonstration against the plant, it said, toxic pollution coming out of the plant has been “recognized” even by the government.
Those who demonstrated were residents of Jasola Heights, Sukhdev Vihar, Johri Farm, Okhla Vihar, Gaffar Manzil, Haji Colony, Shahin Bagh, Butla House, Masihgarh, Badarpur, and Madanpur Khadar. They formed a human chain, which was later converted into a rally. Earlier, opposition to the plant led to the administration and the Delhi Pollution Control Board to a cancel a hearing on the plant’s expansion on January 16.
Insisting that environmental public hearing is a very important constitutional right, the statement said, “Experience across India suggests, the government somehow fulfills the ritual of public hearing and then undertakes paperwork to carry forward a project. The plan to expand the 16 MW plant to 40 MW is currently being heard in the Supreme Court. Why is the government in such a hurry?”
“The National Green Tribunal had directed in a ruling that the garbage plant should be monitored by a committee of three members every month. It was to give its opinion of whether environmental standards were satisfactory. Surprisingly, monitoring process was changed from once one month to three months”, the statement said, adding, “Our battle will continue till we win.”

Comments

TRENDING

Arrival of USS Lincoln: A ‘leisure trip’ to Thailand or a neo-colonial move to commodify women?

By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong   The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for a ‘leisure trip’ in Thailand before returning to its campaign of destruction against the people of West Asia demands immediate interrogation and opposition. For us Thai people, and those in sites of American plunder across the globe, this a rattling of the US’ cold war colonial chains on its most loyal lap dog, while conducting a war of aggression in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. In allowing the USS Lincoln to dock, the Thai ruling elites are once again facilitating a system of imperial violence that extends far beyond Southeast Asian borders, a system which in our case, is predicated on sexual violence and femicide.

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine. 

The 'Dr' debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta*  India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.