Nagpur: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has directed the power plant company owned by Mahagenco to take immediate action against pollution caused by Khaparkheda and Koradi power plants.
The move came three days after the official team from the Ministry of Environment, Change of Forest and Climate (MOEFCC) conducted inspections of places in the villages affected on the outskirts of this plant.
Referring to the complaint submitted by Leena Buddhe, the founder and director of the Sustainable Development Center (CFSD), Gadkari has written to the Chair of Mahagenco and the Managing Director of Sanjay Kharahe stated that the facts delivered by the complainant are “clear”.
“CFSD estimates the impact of disaster from pollution to villagers, farmers, livestock and the environment as a whole,” Gadkari said in the letter.
Along with his complaint, Buddhe attached findings from the latest water pollution reports found that Mahagenco did not follow the environmental norms and others when throwing fly ash which was released from the Koradi thermal power plant and Khaparkheda.
In his complaint to Gadkari, the Buddhecood highlighted how Nandgaon and Bakhari villages suffered due to the release of poisonous ash porridge in the pool without getting an objection certificate from the villagers.
“The Bund Abu pitching is not finished.
Also, Fly Ash is being discarded without HDPE layers, which leads to groundwater contamination,” Buddhe said.
Buddhecians also demanded that Mahagenco propose a plan of 100% utilization of flying ash according to the revised norm.
“It must avoid the situation of depositing Fly Ash for years as it has been done in three ash pools in Khairy, Khairia and Mhasala Valagers,” he added.
As reported by the previous Toi, Mahagenco has stopped the debit of the ashes in Nandgaon to be convertating the direction of the Maharashtra pollution control agency (MPCB).
Moefcc officials also found water contamination in various locations where Fly Ash was being dismissed and had directed Mahagenco to form its official committee, MPCB, NGO and Sarpanchs from the villages affected to monitor the site regularly and curb pollution.
TII previously reported that during the tour in the city scheduled for Tuesday, the Ministry of State of Aaditya Thackeray was expected to visit the villages affected.
However, the source told TII that the minister’s visit was postponed.
On Monday, Buddhecian and his team was carried out on inspections in Nandgaon and found that in just two months, the mole abu was released significant damage.
“Nullah natural has been blocked and poisonous porridge has begun to enter the farm field.
The disaster is extraordinary,” he said.