JVM legislator Pradeep Yadav has approached Jharkhand State Pollution Control Broad (JSPCR) along with the Forest and Environment Department for postponing public hearing called for environment clearance for Adani Power’s proposed power plant in Godda.
The MlA has made this demand and cited that formalities required before calling such public meetings are not fulfilled. “A notice for calling such public hearing has to be published in local newspapers 30 days in advance which was not done in this case. But the JSPCB has called a public hearing for environmental clearance on March 5. Also, the status report prepared by Green-C India Consulting Private limited has not given the complete details about the impact on local environment, source of water supply and disposal of fly ash by the power plant etc,” alleged Yadav.
The legislator charged that Chir River from where the company is proposing to source water for running the 1600 MW power plant is incapable of meeting the requirement. “It means that the power plant would extract ground water. Also, emissions of CO2, SO2 and nitrogen would be there for which the status report presented is silent. On the other, the company is just interested in calling favourable persons suitable for its interest for the public hearing and actual residents and villagers are being overlooked to suppress genuine grievances,” said the MlA.
The Poraiyahaat legislator has also handed over applications to Principal Secretary of the Department Sukhdev Singh, urging for republication of the public notice in local newspapers and then hold the hearing within the stipulated period. He rejected the claims of the JSPCB that the notice was published in some editions of vernacular dailies, saying that the editions were not concerned with Godda and Poraiyahaat circles, relevant to the proposed power plant.
Notably, Yadav had on earlier occasion also rejected pubic hearing conducted for land acquisition by the company for building the power plant claiming it being done fraudulently.