Mumbai: Bio-waste plant is killing us, we have proof, says Govandi residents

Residents of Govandi and Deonar will soon file a PIL in the Bombay High Court and submit the BMCrsquos response to an RTI query on tuberculosis TB cases and deaths to prove direct correlation between pollution and toxic gases and the adverse impact on their healthCiting the statistics from 2013 to May 2022 the residents have claimed a rise in TB deaths over the past 35 years They are prepared to take the next step in their fight against pollution and health hazards allegedly caused by the biomedical waste treatment plant run by SMS Envoclean next door They will file the PIL in the Bombay High Court this weekThe RTI response contains statistics on tuberculosis TB from 2013 to May 2022 Around 4500 to 5000 people are diagnosed with tuberculosis yearly in M East ward Govandi and Deonar alone it shows During the same period 1877 people died due to TBAlso Read Select citizens middlemen availed of benefits of govt schemes in past PM ModiWhile 760 deaths occurred in five years from 2013 and 2017 TB killed 1117 people in the next 35 years from 2018 to May 2022 according to the BMCrsquos data While an average of 152 people died yearly between 2013 and 2017 TB claimed around 250 lives each year from 2018 to May 2022M East ward covers nearly 250 slum pockets and is a known TB hotspot Residents allege the rising pollution in the area has aggravated the disease that affects the lungsChildren play near the Deonar dumping ground in Govandi File picSameer MarkandeThe residents will file the public interest litigation PIL against the BMC the state environment department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board MPCB They had earlier this month filed an intervention application to an existing 2019 case in the Bombay HC pertaining to SMS Envoclean The HC had directed them to file an independent PILlsquoWhy not conduct a studyrsquoldquoNeither the BMC nor the state government has conducted any kind of study on pollution or health hazards caused by the dumping ground waste treatment plant wastetoenergy projects etc here This is despite our repeated complaints Is the government using us the residents of Deonar and Govandi as guinea pigs If they deny any health hazards can they explain why the number of TB cases is rising Why is the BMC or the state government unable to help the residents And if that is not the case they should have undertaken a studyrdquo said Advocate Saif AlamA man segregates garbage at Deonar dumping ground File picAtul KambleFayyaz Shaikh a resident who is also the president of NGO Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society said ldquoMPCB officials found several noncompliances when they visited SMS Envoclean in March which they even put on record SMS Envoclean becomes a violation attracting the lsquoPolluter Pays Principlersquo and other criminal provisions under the Environment Protection Act of 1986 The residents have demanded actionrdquoldquoAs per the BMCrsquos data there has been no success in bringing down the numbers of TB cases and deaths All factors only point to one fact pollution and harmful gases emitted from dumping grounds and biomedical treatment plants are harming residents and pushing many towards death We invite them to conduct a study on this and help usrdquo Shaikh addedSMS Envoclean in Govandi East is the only biomedical waste treatment facility in Mumbai In 2009 the BMC and the MPCB gave SMS Envoclean the contract to treat the cityrsquos biomedical waste Although the contract was to build three plants only one was built at Govandi The BMC and the MPCB were unable to find places for the other two plants This meant the entire cityrsquos biomedical waste getting dumped at the Govandi plant Over the years the thick toxic smoke emitted from the plant became a health hazard for the residents