Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the two-member team, which was tasked to look into the Deonar dumping ground fire in Mumbai last week, has prepared its report and “str
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the two-member team, which was tasked to look into the Deonar dumping ground fire in Mumbai last week, has prepared its report and “strict action” would be taken against the violators after “examining” its findings. The minister of state for envrionment termed the incident a “serious lapse” and said that a meeting involving local authorities would soon be convened.
“Our team has just prepared the report, which is under examination. I will discuss it tomorrow with my officers. Within two days, most probably on March 30, we will call municipal and state officials concerned. Then we will discuss the whole report and ask for a time-bound action plan,” Mr Javadekar said, adding, “It is a serious lapse and we have taken it very seriously. We will issue, if required, necessary orders under Section 5 of Environment Protection Act. This means strict action. We will issue directions. They have to comply with it.”
Asked about reports hinting that the fire was a ‘sabotage’, he said that all such aspects would be discussed during the meeting and action will be taken accordingly. The ministry had earlier constituted a two-member team to probe the fire.
Air quality in several parts of Mumbai had oscillated between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ in the wake of the Deonar fire.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the average level of fine respirable pollutants PM 2.5 fell in the ‘poor’ category in Mumbai recently.
A six-month old boy had also died in a locality near the Deonar dumping ground with his parents saying he died of suffocation due to emission of toxic gases from the blaze, a charge which had been refuted by officials.
Reports said that even as cooling operations continue at the dumping ground, residents in the area and policemen deployed at the site are facing health issues due to the smoke still emanating out of the dump.
The Congress had staged a road blockade recently near the Deonar dumping ground and demanded that it be shifted to Taloja in Navi Mumbai.
