New Delhi: Northwest Delhi’s Sannoth village has become the epicenter of a growing protest against the proposed Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant in Bawana. Since December 19 residents have raised alarms over the potential environmental and health hazards posed by the project.
The proposed project, spread over 15-acre land, is expected to process around 3,000 tonne of waste per day, significantly addressing the waste generated daily in Bawana industrial area. However, if this plant comes up, the area will have the country’s highest concentration of incinerators, burning 6,000 tonne of waste daily. Nearby residents, already enduring the harmful effects of toxic fumes and fly ash, are concerned about facing repercussions similar to those experienced by the residents of Haji Colony located opposite the Okhla WtE plant.
Like thousands of other families, several generations of 85-year-old Kanwar Singh’s family have lived in Sannoth, a small village near the proposed WtE project site in Bawana on the outskirts of Delhi.
“I once played joyfully in this very field, and today, I find myself protesting here,” Singh, the only literate elder in the locality, said. He is among thousands of protesters participating in an indefinite protest against the government’s “developmental” plans.
The protesters highlight issues with the existing plant, which emits unpleasant odour during the monsoon, and fear the new plant could worsen the situation as the area would process 3,000 tonne more waste daily. Locals are particularly worried about the risk of chemical seepage affecting nearby agricultural land.
Health concerns
Despite being just a tiny portion of Maharashtra’s size, Delhi (10,990 tonne per day) produces almost half the waste generated by the former (22,632.71 tonne per day) on a daily basis. To tackle this waste disposal issue, Delhi already has plants at Okhla, Tehkhand, Ghazipur and Bawana processing about 8,000 tonnes of waste daily out of the 11,000 tonnes generated each day.
Amid controversies, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) approved another WtE plant in Bawana on December 19, elevating residents’ concerns. The authorities also plan to expand the processing capacity of the existing plants by 1,000 tonnes and the proposed plant’s capacity by 2,000 tonnes in the future.
However, the local residents are concerned about the possible health effects. Residents recall the experience of Haji Colony and Sukhdev Vihar in Okhla, where the Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management Co Pvt Ltd, operated by the Jindal Group, has been in operation since 2012. The plant was found to be emitting large volumes of respirable pollutants, with confirmed presence of cadmium in the dumped ash, resulting in a substantial fine and severe criticism from the Supreme Court.
Political promises fall short
Many like 18-year-old Naman Kumar have dubbed the issue as “Kachra Rajneeti” (garbage politics), highlighting the underlying politics. In 2012, affected villages like Sannoth, Ladpur (near Kanjhawala), and Khera (near Kazipur) boycotted the MCD polls, protesting the negligence of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which led the MCD and Delhi government, respectively.
It appears that history is repeating itself. This area, which falls under Narela constituency, reinforced the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) foothold by supporting its candidate in the 2020 assembly elections and retaining the Bankner ward in the 2022 MCD elections. Locals have often praised the AAP’s efforts in improving water supply and reducing electricity bills.
However, in the recent 2024 general elections, the BJP dominated the Northwest Delhi constituency with the largest margin in the capital, exceeding two lakh votes. Despite this political back-and-forth, villagers remain deeply disappointed, holding both the AAP and the BJP accountable for neglecting the proximity of the proposed site to their villages.
“Our parents voted for a better future, for metro connectivity projects. But now, when the government introduces new plans, it’s just another mountain of garbage!” Naman said, expressing his frustration, as these college students have to travel 25 km by bus, back and forth, just to reach the nearest metro station for further travel. The locals are once again considering boycotting the upcoming assembly elections, viewing it as their last resort to register their protest.
Also read: The Human Cost of Delhi-NCR’s ‘Mountains of Waste’
As the local protest continues, Aruna Kumari, the nominated Congress candidate for Narela constituency in the upcoming elections, visited the local protest. When asked specifically about the project during her election rally, she acknowledged the issue but refrained from offering a clear commitment to resolve the villagers’ concerns.
While the BJP is yet to nominate a candidate for this constituency, Neeldaman Khatri, the former BJP MLA, attended the protest and assured the party’s support. However, this “support” has not alleviated the frustration and anger among villagers, as work on the electricity towers have already begun in the area. Both parties have promised action post-election but have not actively engaged in protesting alongside the village community.
AAP’s candidate, Dinesh Bhardwaj, is actively rallying in other regions of Narela but is yet to visit Sannoth village. When this author questioned the party members about this, they conveyed that they had written a letter to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena requesting him to relocate the project site. However, when asked further about the involvement of the MCD, which is under the state government, they declined to comment further.
According to the villagers, a few gram sabhas have been conducted in recent days to inform the community and share their objections via email by December 26, 2024. However, the villagers complain that they are digitally illiterate, and the most active group – elderly residents – struggle to send emails as they lack access to mobile phones.
An additional public hearing was scheduled for December 27 to address the concerns of the villagers and mitigate their anger. But, according to the attendees, the actions taken did not align with the promises made. Villagers allege that an officer attempted to fraudulently obtain their signatures to falsely depict written consent for the project, taking advantage of the illiteracy among many locals.
Following this incident, tensions have heightened, with residents of nearby areas, including J.J. Colony and Sannoth, issuing stern warnings to the authorities. They have threatened to take drastic measures, such as contaminating a tributary of the Yamuna River, if any further progress is made on the project. This development could exacerbate the conflict between stakeholders and potentially impact a broader population in Delhi, given the Yamuna River’s critical role in supplying water to the city.
“At this age, migrating is not an option. We neither have the means to move nor the physical strength to do so,” says Singh, reflecting on the growing stench from the existing plant and the prospect of worsening conditions if the new plant is approved.
While some villagers considered migration due to the unbearable environment, most remained resolute in their protests, determined to protect their ancestral land and ensure a healthier future for the next generation. They have also appealed to the media and the people of Delhi for support in safeguarding their land and way of life.
Delhi’s escalating waste management crisis demands urgent and decisive action. The worst part is this waste, often unsegregated and low in calorific value, contains high moisture which requires more energy for incineration, making WtE plants more environmentally harmful. These landfills have transformed into towering mountains of untreated, foul-smelling waste, a clear reflection of the government’s failure to address the issue.
Some progress has been made, with waste now being repurposed for road construction under the Urban Extension Road Project-II. Yet, the gap between waste generation and disposal remains alarmingly wide and is unlikely to close anytime soon.
As a result, the towering “kude ka pahad” (mountains of garbage), initially intended as landfill sites, continue to grow unchecked. Without sustainable solutions that consider both public welfare and environmental impact, these waste heaps appear destined to rise indefinitely.
Salony is an independent journalist covering polity, governance and social issues.
