Okhla plant safe, government committee tells NGT

New Delhi: Justifying setting up of the waste-to-energy plant in Okhla here, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Friday told the National Green Tribunal that emissions from the incineration plant were well within the limits set under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000.

The apex pollution monitoring body told a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar that it was regularly monitoring the emissions at the waste-to-energy plant and immediate action is taken if any complaint is received.

CPCB also refuted the claim that the plant located at Sukhdev Vihar in South Delhi lies in the green belt and said that land was originally earmarked for setting up of sewage treatment plant (STP).

“The land, which belonged to Delhi Development Authority, was given on lease to New Delhi Municipal Council for establishment of STP to treat the waste collected from the Rashtrapati Bhavan and initially termed as Okhla waste complex which never took off,” the lawyer appearing for CPCB told the bench.

She further said the levels of particulate matter (PM-10) from the plant were within prescribed standards of 150 micrograms per cubic meter and CPCB aims at bringing down the emission levels of PM10 to 50 micrograms per cubic metre.

The CPCB lawyer said the plant was using “superior” technology for its operation and used refuse derived fuel (RDF) and biomethanation technology for waste management.