NGT poser to Puri civic body on waste dump

Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought a status report from the Puri municipality on the relocation of thousands of people living in proximity to Baliapanda where the town’s waste is being dumped for over three decades.
The NGT’s east zone bench issued a direction to this effect on Monday after taking note of a report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) which presented “a very dismal picture” of concentration of pollutants in the groundwater.
The CGWB report indicated leakage of contaminants from the dump site resulting in contamination of groundwater in the vicinity. To prevent it, the report recommended isolation of the dumping site from the aquifer by construction of impermeable layers under and around it.
The bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar and Dr Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) said, “We direct the Puri municipality to file a fresh affidavit within four weeks showing compliance in terms of the recommendations of the Central Ground Water Board and also showing what action has been taken by the tehsildar, Puri, for relocation of the persons residing in the vicinity of the dump site whose lives may be seriously jeopardised by leachate of contaminants into the groundwater.”
The tribunal was hearing a petition seeking intervention against wastes lying dumped in Baliapanda located within 100m of the sea beach.
Chinmaya Das, a resident of Puri, had filed the petition alleging that wastes are being burnt, thereby polluting the nearby areas of Balisahi, Gourbat Sahi and Swargadwar, Advocate Afraaz Suhail represented the petitioner. The bench posted the matter to May 10.