Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding disposal of fly ash lying at a site in Aravalli even after closure of the power plant, Faridabad, Haryana, 27/09/2023
Order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the matter of Ajay Shrivastava Vs State of Haryana dated 27/09/2023.
The application raised the issue of disposal of fly ash lying at a site in Aravalli even after closure of the power house, Bata Chowk, Faridabad. This is violation of Aravalli Notification, May 7, 1992 by the MoEF&CC restricting certain activities in the specified area of Aravalli Range.
A joint inspection report, July 31, 2023 said that there were 2 ash dykes and one ash dyke covering 103 acres that got filled with ash in 1987 and is currently covered with plantation after deposition of soil layer. The second ash dyke spans 152 acres and from this ash dyke, ash lifting work is in progress.
The report disclosed that no lifting of fly ash took place between 2018 and 2022 and now work has been awarded to two agencies and till June 30, 2023 approximately 8 lakhs MT fly ash was lifted and approximately 10 lakhs MT fly ash is yet to be lifted.
The counsel for the Haryana State Pollution Control Board has informed the court that the entire remaining fly ash in respect of the second ash dyke will be lifted by June 21, 2026.
No concrete plan relating to lifting of the coal ash from the ash dyke has been produced in the report and the timeline which has been reflected also appears to be longer, the court observed. Also, initially a plantation was proposed but nothing has been done till now.
The court issued notice to the Chief Engineer and Executing Engineer, Faridabad Thermal Power Station, a unit of Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited. The matter has been listed for December 18, 2023.