Villagers protest relocation of stone-crushers

THE VILLAGERS of Pali, 30 kmfrom Delhi in Faridabad, are up iparms over a move to set up 300 stone-crushing units on panchayat landthat was once theirs and have gone tocourt to get a stay.

The Faridabad ComplexAdministration (FCA), acting on aSupreme Court order to relocate theunits from the Faridabad-Delhi border, had merged the panchayat landsof Mohabatabad and Pali villages,and, circumventing an otherwiselengthy process, acquired 2,025 haon which it plans to relocate the crushers.

In a classic case of the not-in-my-backyard syndrome, the court onMay 16 ordered that all stone crushers along the Delhi-Faridabad borderclose and shift because they are polluting Delhi's air. M C Mehta, theadvocate who sought the shifting,said the court was not satisfied withthe pollution control measures takenby the crusher units and hence theyhad to be relocated.

The Pali villagers are protesting because the FCA-acquired land con 2 sists of grazing grounds and is asource of firewood. The villagers alsoclaim that Pali is downwind of thenew crushing site and that dust willbe blown into their homes. "Is it onlyrich people's children who get tuberculosis? Are the lives of our childrenany less precious than those of thecity folks? Yes, only because we arefarmers and have to listen to the citysarkar," says Pali's sarpanch,Dharam Vir.

The decision to shift the crushershas been opposed by all concerned.The crushers are unhappy as theirtransport costs willquadruple; the labourers The Palihave been without workfor the last four months; are proteand the mine ownershave had to close as because Imost of the crushershave not been installed FCA-acqired at the new sites yet.

K P Nyati, who heads land comthe environmental cell ofthe Confederation of grazing AIndian Industry, sayswhat is needed are and is a"more realistic standardsand a better enforcementregime, which would have made more sense than merely relocating the problein." According to Central Pollution Control Board standards, the amount of suspended particulate matter (SPM) emitted by the crushers should not exceed 600 microgrammes per cubic metre of air at a distance of 10 m from the unit. But the amount of SPM at a busy intersection in Delhi is often much higher.

Experts also point out that there are simple and effective steps to cut down dust pollution from the units. The National Productivity Council discovered the dust generated could be reduced by 80 per cent simply by enclosing certain operations. This was also -a profitable move as the dust, and not just gravel, could be collected and sold. The crushers started building sheds, not out of a desire to control pollution, but to make money.

At Pali, the concentration of crushers will be as high as it was earlier. At the moment, the area is 3parsely populated, but once the huge complex of stone crushers iomes up, worker tamps and support Facilities will follow. Delhi's voracious appetite for land will also ensure its spread, bringing the problem back to where it started. 'Shifting, at best, is a temporary 3olution," feels Nyati.

Besides raising transport charges, Ie shifting will also increase fuel use and pollution. "Given that Delhi is the main consumer of the stones, it is ridiculous to move the crushers further out," says an expert, referring to the red problems of truck pollution.

Crushers will take at least a year to start operations at the new site. Because the crushers are closed, so are the stone mines as there is no offtake of stones.

Dinesh Kumar, a mine owner inMewla village, says the court orderhas knocked the bottom out of theeconomy of the place. Most of thelabourers have either gone home toBihar and eastern UP or to Delhi toget other jobs.

The FCA is the only entity whichstands to gain. Each plot at Pali ispriced at Rs 10.8 lakh and another Rs4.5 lakh is being charged from eachunit owner for electricity. Additionalcharges will be levied for water,labour accommodation and parking,as and when they become available.

Salina town, 35 km from Delhi,will be another stone-crushing centre.A committee headed by the districtcommissioner has identified sevensites outside the town where 200stone crushers can be located. Thetown's residents have no objectionsto these out-of-town sites but areopposed to the 40-old crushers within the town. As many as 70 per centof the people living near these unitssuffer from respiratory diseases, saysS B Kaushal, a divisional engineer,around whose house there are three crushers.

There is also an ethical issue,points oat one environmentalist. "IfDelhi needs the gravel for its building, then it should also be preparedto suffer the pollution or pay toimprove the conditions. Why shouldit simply relocate its problems inanother's backyard?"

The labourers working in thecrushers were the worst affected bythe pollution, and for them, thefuture remains as dusty.