DIMAPUR, JUNE 5: DRAWING the urgent issues and concern of continued environmental degradation in the state, a collective team of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Pro Rural (PR) and Can Youth (CY) visited the much talked-about, controversial Dimapur Municipal Garbage/ Waste dumping site at United North Block area on the eve of World Environment Day on June 4.
Ground Reality:
On inspecting the site, it came to be unravelled that major guidelines or conditions requisite to run such a site are not adhered to. The wastes- bio-medical waste, hazardous waste and non segregated solid wastes were collectively and directly dumped onto the site just as they are brought and burnt, often times, against the explicit rules forbidding it. It observed that there was no treatment of garbage, no segregation, while the rest of the wastes were left untreated, uncovered and out in the open.
The localities informed the team that several times since last year, the DMC had, 4-5 times, unilaterally and arbitrarily re-extended the shifting from the site against their token promises to the agitators.
The waste disposal at the present site was but a paragon of environmental law violation. Of all the criteria set for a landfill site to meet, it accused the DMC of miserably and successively failing on all the major fronts. There was no proper retaining wall build to contain the garbage spilling over the road. There were around 30 households living right around the dumping field. However, the site poses equal threat to other 5,000 odd households of the locality and beyond in the form of contamination of ground water from decades of toxic-liquid seepage from the site and the dangerous air that emanates from the wastes.
Team also observed that there was no specific timing set for garbage dumping. Residents could smell the burning of plastics and rubbers as early as 2 AM in the morning. The vehicles carrying garbage, as they cross the area, leaves huge amount of dusts in their wake due to pathetic conditions of the road. There are 10-20 garbage carrying vehicles plying on duty every day, causing pollution to the careers themselves and creating nuisance to the residents in the area.
Dumping ground was in itself a machine for endless supplies of flies and mosquitoes. Direct affect of the dangers were reportedly witnessed in the form of acute case of liver swelling in an otherwise healthy looking child, asthma and other respiratory problem especially in the older people, and many cases of water borne disease such as skin disease, diarrhoea, typhoid, to name a few. It is feared that continued exposure to the air and consumption of water polluted by the site could lead to other major health concerns.
Nagaland comes under the purview of Municipal Solid wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000. The 2000 Rules laid out basic essential standards to adhere to while carrying out such waste dumping projects. The Rules and Guidelines were laid out with due incorporation of inputs from health experts, environmentalists and all related experts keeping in view the nuisance and threats that the project could pose to life and society.
The team realised that as against the basic set standards, there was a drastic contrast on the ground and blatant negligence on the part of the relevant authorities since day one of the project. The team felt that one need to first understand the set guidelines to better understand the magnitude of rights and health violation to the populace residing closely to the site in particular and the people of Dimapur in general.
The Municipal Solid wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 provides for specific and mandatory guidelines with regard to site selection for proposed landfill site, facilities required at landfill site, specification for land filling, pollution prevention, water quality monitoring, ambient air quality monitoring, plantation at landfill site, closure of landfill site/post closure, etc. These specific provisions are to be implemented as per the rules and need to be ensured starting from the planning and design stage. The adequacy and performance of these provisions are to be monitored by the regulating authorities (State Pollution Control Board) during issue of authorization and in regular interval thereafter.
The site selection should be done based on examination of environmental issues. The landfill site shall be planned and designed with proper documentation of a phased construction plan as well as a closure plan. The landfill facility shall be nearby waste processing plant or an integral part of it. The proposed landfill site should be away from habitation clusters, forest areas, water bodies, monuments, national parks, wetlands and places of important cultural, historical or religious interest.
The site proposal should show all features (e.g., roads, parks, habitation, water bodies etc.) within a range of 500m outside the boundary of the landfill.
The disposed wastes should be covered immediately at the end of working day with 10 cm of soil. Prior to commencing monsoon period, an immediate soil cover of 40-65 cm thickness should be placed on the landfill with compaction to prevent rainwater infiltration.
Proper drainage is to be provided to divert run-off water from the active landfill cell. Ground water quality is to be monitored within 50m periphery of landfill site. Also, ground water quality data to be generated before construction of landfill site for future reference.
The ground water quality within 50 metres of the periphery of landfill site should be periodically monitored to ensure that the ground water is not contaminated beyond acceptable limit as decided by the Ground Water Board or the State Board or the Committee. Such monitoring should be carried out to cover different seasons in a year. Installation of landfill gas control system including gas collection system should be made at landfill site to minimize odour generation, prevent off-site migration of gases and to protect vegetation planted on rehabilitated landfill surface.
The concentration of methane gas at the landfill site should not exceed 25 LEL. The ambient air quality monitoring shall be carried out by the concerned authority atleast two times in a year for a city like Dimapur. Even the effect of a landfill site is considered to be so dangerous to human lives that post-closure care of landfill site is required to be conducted after fifteen years and there has to be a long term monitoring assessment on maintaining integrity and effectiveness of final cover and repair, efficiency of leachate collection system, ground water quality and action required to improve, maintenance and operation of gas collection system to meet the standards. The closed landfill may be used for human settlement after 15 years of post-closure care by ensuring gaseous emission and leachate compliance.
It needs to be highlighted that irrespective of the mechanism that the DMC puts into, they could never rectify the loss to the environment they have caused. The Dhansiri river that is just alongside the site, the local residents who had to bear the difficult times cannot afford to see the site continuing at the present site. Under the mentorship of the State PCB, the DMC should relocate the site and install state-of-the-art processing equipments and all other criteria that a landfill site is supposed to have. Let no other citizen, for another day, go through the life threatening menace, the team suggested.
