Pollute our water, but give us jobs,’ residents plead with Uttam Galwa Metallics
Additional Collector Sunil Gade (centre) and MPCB regional officer N H Shivangi (right) on the dias (photos by Aparna Pallavi) The
public hearing for the proposed expansion of the Bhugaon pig iron plant
in Wardha, owned by Uttam Galwa Metallics Limited, turned into a war
over jobs and corporate sops. Environment issues took a back seat during
the hearing on November 21. Residents of the area were very articulate
about the water pollution caused by Galwa’s pig iron plant located in
villages
Barbadi and Bhugaon, and the diseases caused by it.
Surprisingly however, all statements ended in pleas for more jobs to
local youth.
The pig iron plant, which started operating in 2010, was stiffly
opposed at the time it was proposed by Gandhian organizations in Wardha
city because of the plant’s proximity to the historic Bapu Kuti.
The proposed expansion, from the existing annual capacity of 0.47
million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes, in addition to a 17 MW captive
waste to heat power plant, however, hardly drew protests, mainly because
no fresh land acquisition is required. A second reason, informed
residents of nearby villages, is that the company has bought over the
local body representatives through jobs and other sops.
Pollution, diseases, crop loss
Speaking of pollution caused to groundwater in her village by
effluents from the unit, Kavita Kelvadkar, former sarpanch of village
Barbadi, said that children in the village have become chronically
malnourished because of constantly suffering from diarrhoea. She
demanded that the company install a reverse osmosis water treatment
plant in the village to ensure clean water supply.
Narendra Thute, sarpanch of Chithoda village, said that soot released
from the unit’s stacks was causing eye-problems in his village. “All
the management does is to hold medical camps and distribute bad quality
glasses.”
Vilas Moon of Barbadi said that six months ago eight youth from the
village were sacked from their jobs in the unit after they called the
management’s attention to the death of fish in a stream near the village
because of polluted water released from the unit. “I and a few others
in the village have been attacked by the company’s goons after the
protest,” he said.
Elderly farmer Devisingh Barwal because of pollution in the nullah, cotton and soybean crops in his village have been damagedSanjay
Kubde, sarpanch of villge Selu Kate, said that the company had violated
promises made to villagers that 80 per cent of the jobs would go to
locals. “The company is using our land, and we are bearing the brunt of
air and water pollution,” he said. “In summers, when we sleep outside,
we find ourselves covered with soot in the morning. But when it comes to
skilled and highly paid jobs, our educated youth are overlooked in
favour of outsiders.”
Farmers alleged that the productivity of land has gone down because
of the severe air and water pollution caused by the unit. Kubde said
that his milk business has been severely impacted by soot released into
the air by the company which settled on his fodder crops. Elderly farmer
Devisingh Barwal said that because of pollution in the nullah, cotton
and soybean crops in the village have been damaged.
MPCB at fault, people’s reps sold out
Speakers blamed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for
not taking action against Uttam Galwa for the unchecked pollution. “We
cannot oppose the company in any way because 200 families in my village
are dependent on the company for wages,” said Ashok Lad, gram panchayat
member from village Barbadi. “But why is MPCB not taking note of what is
going on here?” Other speakers agreed that beyond periodically issuing
notices, MPCB has not taken action against the company.
Moon of Barbadi village said that there is hardly any opposition to
the proposed extension, which would doubtless raise pollution levels in
the area because Galwa management has bought out all people’s
representatives. “Most of the company’s land is in my village, and it
should be paying gram panchayat tax to the tune of Rs 70 lakh per year.
However, sarpanch and other panchayat members have given them illegal
tax sops and so they are paying us just Rs 12 lakh per year.”
Violations galore
A letter submitted to MPCB at the public hearing by Sudhir Paliwal,
convener of Vidarbha Environment Action Group (VEAG), a Nagpur-based
volunteers group, raised several objections to the extension project. It
argued that blast furnace-based steel plants have high risk of
explosion, and the location of the current project, within a residential
area instead of in a notified industrial area, is unsuitable for such a
project. Citing several court directives, it pointed out that
integrated steel plants are highly polluting and pointed out that the
project proponent has deliberately separated the present extension from
the original steel plant to obtain terms of reference (TOR) and
environment clearance. He also pointed that being located only 4 km from
Sewagram, the project violates a Maharashtra government directive of
1994, which prohibits industries within 10 km of Mahatma Gandhi’s
historical abode. Water containing untreated effluents from the unit
have polluted a stream flowing through the ashram, the letter pointed
out.
MPCB defends Galwa
In a surprising and illegal action, MPCB regional head N H Shivangi
used the platform of the public hearing to refute charges of water
pollution against Galwa. “Iron and steel is an air-polluting company,
not a water polluting one,” he said. “I have myself been monitoring the
water and only treated water is being released.”
The audience, however, nailed his lie after an MPCB notice issued to
the company in January this year for releasing polluted water into the
surrounding areas was produced by local people. Company representatives,
challenged to explain water pollution, however, did not reply to
people’s questions, saying that the question pertained to the existing
plant and not to the proposed extension.
