A public hearing for a proposed facility for processing and disposing of hazardous industrial solid waste in Ralol village of Surendranagar was cancelled after hundreds of residents from nearby villages showed up to protest the project.
The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) had scheduled a public hearing in Ralol village of Limdi taluka Thursday for the treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF), proposed by Row Gold Waste Management Pvt Limited (RGWMPL), a Rajkot-registered company.
As per the draft environment impact assessment (EIA) report submitted by the company to GPCB, the company has acquired 4.85 hectare land in Ralol, one kilometre off the National Highway 8 that connects Ahmedabad to Rajkot.
The company proposes to set up a TSDF having the capacity to treat and store 2.75 lakh metric tonnes of hazardous industrial solid waste and dispose of it as landfilling material at the site.
“However, people residing in Ralol and the nearby villages vehemently protested against the proposed project at the public hearing. They said they do not want this hazardous waste disposal facility in their vicinity. In the eye of the protests, we accepted letters of objections submitted by six to seven village panchayats of nearby villages and wound up the proceedings,” said ND Zala, resident additional collector (RAC) of Surendranagr.
The RAC was appointed as the presiding officer for the public hearing.
“As the locals are aggressively objecting to the proposed project, it is for the project proponent to convince them and then approach GPCB again for rescheduling the public hearing,” Zala added.
RGWMPL acquired the private land in the village for setting up the TSDF with an annual capacity to handle 204 metric tonnes of hazardous industrial waste.
As per the draft EIA, the facility will remain active for seven years and once its capacity of 2.75 lakh metric tonnes has been utilised, it will be covered and that land, water and air quality would be monitored in its vicinity for the next 30 years to prevent any leachate, etc causing pollution.
The project will generate employment for around 100 people during the construction phase and for around 20 persons during its operations.