Clean energy fund to be used for cleaning 12 toxic dump sites

States asked to bear 60 per cent cost
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The Central Pollution Control Board is in talks with pollution control departments of eight states to begin remediation work at 12 sites which have been contaminated by highly toxic waste waste. The recently launched National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) has approved Rs 60 crore for preparing detailed project reports for the sites. Activists say the exercise might turn out to be a theoretical one.

In August, the central board (CPCB) had proposed that 70 per cent of the project, costing Rs 805 crore, be borne by NCEF. But after discussions, it was decided NCEF would pay 40 per cent and the grant was cleared in principle if the state governments provide 60 per cent of the total cost; NCEF would provide the initial Rs 5 crores per site for the preparing  detailed project reports.

On November 30, 2011, CPCB officials called a meeting with state representatives to discuss how they can fund the works. Vinod Babu, head of the hazardous waste division of CPCB says, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are the most preferred mode. Another method being explored is getting the polluter to clean the site based on the principle of 'polluter pays'.

The project currently is in the planning stage, says Aniruddhe Mukerjee, director with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). He is also in charge of the ongoing world bank project—capacity building for industrial pollution management—in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The proposal for remediation of the selected dump sites under NCEF is broadly based on the world bank project.
 
States have committed themselves to preparing detailed project reports for six of the eight sites in collaboration with expert parties (see box). “These would be industry experts and consultants like Environmental Resource Management of Germany. They will suggest possible technology to be used and cost of the clean up,” says Babu of CPCB. He further explains that the selected company would have to provide three options of technology to be used along with cost of each, of which the state would pick one.

Sites selected for remediation
State Site Nature of contaminant Preliminary Details
Gujarat Vadodara Chromium Approximately 77,000 tonnes of chromium residue is dumped in industrial plot. Groundwater is contaminated.
Kerala Eloor, Cochin Heavy metals and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) 24.5 hectares of soil and water bodies contaminated with pesticides and heavy metals in four locations
Madhya Pradesh Ratlam Gypsum, iron salts and Naphthalene Severe contamination of groundwater with PAH and iron salts imparting red-colour
Orissa Ganjam Mercury About 56,000 MT of sludge containing mercury dumped along and near the banks of Rishikulya
Orissa Talcher Chromium 60,000 tonnes of chromium leach residue is dumped in closed industry premises. Contamination of soil and surface water bodies during rains.
Orissa Sundergarh Chromium Chromium leach residue dumps at 4 locations
Rajasthan Bichhadi Inorganic salts, organics Contamination of soil and groundwater
Tamil Nadu Ranipet Chromium Hexavalent Cr leaching from 7.41 acre dump site with 2.2 lakh MT of leach residue. Soil, ground wand surface water contamination
Uttar Pradesh Rakhi-mandi, Kanpur Chromium Approximately 10,000 tonnes of residue dump in approximately 5 to 6 acres. People affected, groundwater contaminated.
Uttar Pradesh Lucknow HCH (Hexa-chloro cyclo-hexane) Approximately 36,432 tonnes of pesticides waste dumped in closed industry premises
Uttar Pradesh Rania, Kanpur Dehat Chromium Two square kilometres land area is contaminated with open dump of approximately 45,000 tonnes of waste
West Bengal Nibra Village, Howrah Chromium About 4,440 tonnes of residue dumped, human settlement exists above the dump, contamination of groundwater.

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