It has been over 10 days since 601 people in Ulhasnagar were affected by toxic fumes caused by chemical effluent released in Waldhuni river. On the instructions of the state government, a high powered committee was formed which was to present a report on identifying the dumping spots. Yet there is no progress.
On December 1, Medha Gadgil, principal secretary, Maharashtra, had said a team has been set up under the additional superintendent of police, Sharad Shelar, to find the spots where illegal dumping of effluents was done. The committee was to consist of municipal commissioners of Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Badlapur, officials from MPCB, MIDC and RTO.
However, till date not just the identification of spots, but the committee has not even met formally. "I am not aware of any such meeting called by the committee yet," said Ramnath Sonawane, municipal commissioner, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).
Even Nitin Shinde, sub-regional officer, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, said there has been no formal meeting of the committee. "When the incident happened, we had met Sharad Shelar, however there has been no meeting till date," he says.
Meanwhile, Sharad Shelar said all this while he has been waiting to get a formal note of the principal secretary's instructions regarding the committee. "I received the minutes of the meeting held at Mantralay over the formation of the committee and its purpose two days ago. Accordingly, we will meet and chart out a plan of action," Shelar said.
However, Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation has already started its plan of action. "They have decided to install CCTVs at various industrial and public places to keep a tab on illegal dumping. They now have to identify these spots," said Nitin Shinde, MPCB.
On November 29, over 600 people from Ulhasnagar were affected by effluents emanating from Waldhuni river. Untreated chemical was released by a tanker in the river which made people complain of drowsiness, vomiting, excessive headache, body pain and breathing problems.
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