Failure in implementing various action plans in the stipulated times and negligence of the statutory bodies, including Pollution Control Board, caused serious air pollution in Angul district. While various action plans, prepared by the OSPCB, have not been implemented by the industries and mines authorities, action plans on urban waste management, planned transportation activities and fly ash management have not been fully implemented, leading to severe pollution. Air pollution increased health cost and economic burden of the people.
In view of this , in an urgent meeting, the Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF) strongly demanded and decided to campaign for providing free electricity and free medical facilities to the inhabitants of the critically polluted Angul district.
The Chief Minister has already demanded for providing 25% to 33% free power from coal-based thermal power generating stations to the host States. CAF president Rabindra Prasad Pattanaik told that coal-bearing States like Odisha in general and districts like Angul in particular were facing negative externalities like loss of forest and vital eco system, pollution of air and river water, health hazards, problems of resettlement and rehabilitation which were not being compensated by the existing system of payment of royalty.
Moreover, Angul people are with high health risk due to the severe pollution of four thermal power plants and 17 coal mines.
Due to dust and air pollution, diseases like tuberculosis, asthma, fluorosis, bronchitis, thyroid and stomach ailments have become endemic .
Environmentalist Sasmita Behera demanded that polluters pay the health and electricity cost of the people.
Social activist and journalist Dhiramohan Ray said Talcher people are worst-affected by the air pollution. The people's representatives and administration were overlooking it, he alleged.
Joining the campaign, former chairman and present OCA- VP Akshya Samanta, lawyers Pradeep Kumar Panda and Digvijay Pattanaik, social activist Tushar Pradhan , Ashok Mohanty, Arup Baral , Arjun Kumar Muduli , Brajamohan Pradhan and Tapan Sahoo demanded free electricity and medical service to all the pollution affected people.
Social activist Panchanan Senapati, Antaryami Acharya, Himansu Sekhar Chaulia, Jayant Sahu, Saroj Sahoo, Basanta Patra, lawyer Gopal Natha, Prasan Panda, Minaketan Pradhan and Basant Kumar Sahu while expressed concern over severe air pollution, at the same time, they demanded that polluters most pay the cost.
The Union Government also directed the power plants authorities to provide free electricity to perepherial people of 5km. The Delhi Government is allready providing free electricity to its consumers .
Around 64,699 domestic active consumers of Angul district are paying electric bills. A sum of Rs 5,91, 72000 was collected as electric bill in December from these consumers, it is learnt.
The CAF demanded that around Rs 6 crore electricity bill of the severely pollution affected people be reimbursed by the polluters through DMF / CSR fund.
"We urged the MPs, MLAs and other peoples representatives, those who are important and active decision making members of the RPDAC and DMF , to make the campaign a sucess," told Pattanaik.
Apart from sensitising the concerned citizes to join the campaign, the CAF urged them to actively participate in the social media campaign and forward the messages to MPs and MLAs of Angul district for their immediate action.