Animal shelter incinerator raises pullution concern

NOIDA: The Noida Authority plans to set up an incinerator centre on the Sector 94 animal shelter and veterinary hospital premises, but animal activists and residents living nearby have opposed the move.
Pollution created by the incinerator and the stench of animal carcasses, they said, will be hazardous for not only the 2,000 animals housed at the shelter but also the 200 staffers who provide round-the-clock care to them.
While Noida installed a transformer on the premises on June 13, meaning to use it for powering the incinerator, the pollution control board said the Authority has not taken permission for the centre, which also does not meet pollution norms.
“The proposed incinerator centre is surrounded by commercial offices, with thousands of employees. There is also a university, with thousands of students studying and living in hostels, and many medical and health centres. We have written several letters to the Authority, asking it to seek authorisation from the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPPCB). But the Authority has failed to provide us with any letter approving the incinerator centre,” said Manish Lodha, a resident.
The shelter is spread across 9 acres with the incinerator centre planned on part of this land.
UPPCB regional officer Praveen Kumar said the pollution board has taken up the matter with the Authority. “We inspected the location a few days ago and issued a notice to the Noida Authority,” he said.
A Noida official, however, denied receiving such a notice, adding that the incinerator would not violate pollution norms.
“It is just one machine, which will come up in a month. There will be no smell or pollution from it,” the official said.