Visaka No Objection Certificate
for Asbestos Plant in Sambalpur Cancelled
Villagers oppose asbestos plant in
Bargarh too.
When
will inquiry report of Indian Air Force in President helicopter collision
with asbestos roof at Bhubneshwar airport be made public, to pave way for safety of soldiers
in army, navy and air force .
New Delhi 13/7/2012: ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
and Ban Asbestos India campaign welcome the cancellation of the No Objection
Certificate (NOC) given to the Visakha Asbestos Industries in Parmanpur, Sambalpur,
Odisha has been cancelled by the District Magistrate, Sambalpur. The NOC which
was provided earlier by the previous Sarpanch has been found illegal. The Padmanav Nath, new Sarpanch has cancelled it. The DM has approved this
cancellation. The picture of the plant site is enclosed. The news clippings from Sambalpur attached.
TWA
has learnt that despite the cancellation of the NOC, the plant is still
running. Authorities must act to ensure that the plant's illegal
operations are stopped.
The panchayat committee
had not approved the commissioning of the plant at the place. The former
Sarpanch Surendra Barik had given approval without the knowledge and consent of
peoples⠲epresentatives in violation of the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act. On a petition
with the District Panchayat Officer filed by newly elected Sarpanch, the
officer thoroughly inquired the matter and declared the NOC to be
illegal in his report.༯span>
The company got consent to operate after the previous NOC.
It has applied for renewal of license with the Odisha State Pollution Control
Board for extension of its capacity to 2, 50, 000 MT.༯span>
The asbestos cement factory in Parmanpur has been
facing massive and unprecedented opposition by the villagers. The Visaka Asbestos Industries⊰roposed plant to manufacture 216,000 tons per annum of Asbestos Cement
Sheets at Mouza: Paramanpur, Taluq: Maneswar,ĩst:Sambalpur is fraught
with disastrous consequences for the villagers of Odisha.
TWA had written to Odisha State Human Rights
Commission after Parmanpur Gram Surakshya Samiti informed it about the
hazardous plant.
Villagers of Nuagan,
Kendupali, Lebidi Mauza and several other villages are also resisting the the
proposed hazardous asbestos cement roofing factory at Naagaon-Lebidi villages,
Sohella Block, Bargarh district of Odisha under the
banner of Paribesh Suraksha Parishad (JPSP). The company M/s Viswakarma
Roofings Ltd. intends to establish 150,000 Tonnes Per Annum of Asbestos Cement
Sheets Manufacturing Project at Bargarh.
TWA had also written to Chief Minister of Odisha
urging him to stop asbestos cement plants in Odisha
Prior to TWA had written to the President and
Governor, when Odisha GovernorⳠHelicopter had collided with the asbestos
shade at the Bhubneshwar airport when he was travelling with Hon⢬e President
Mrs Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on December 9, 2009. Clearly, asbestos danger is lurking in every corner in
Odisha.ࠔhere was inquiry ordered into this collision by Indian
Air Force, Union Ministry of
Defense. TWA wants to know as to when
will the inquiry report in PresidentⳠhelicopter collision with asbestos roof
in Bhubneshwar be made public.
In a letter to the President dated January 3, 2010, it was
pointed out that 㼯span>Our
armed forces are at a grave risk of asbestos exposure because asbestos has been
used extensively in their work places and residential places. In the Army and
Air Force, asbestos is used in brake and clutch pads installed in everything
from tanks to jeeps to aircraft. Asbestos is part of the insulation in housing
and other buildings on military bases, electric wiring insulation aboard
military planes, and fire retardant materials used by military firefighters and
gunners. In the Navy, Merchant Marine, and Coast Guard, it is even more widely
used, mainly as thermal insulation aboard ships. Asbestos is used in old and
new constructed naval vessels.
The letter further observed, ㏵r Ministry of Defence, Navy, Army and Air Force
must be asked to compile statistics for how many soldiers have died from
asbestos related diseases, how many are suffering from it and how many face the
danger of exposure which causes asbestos-related lung cancers and serious
respiratory diseases. Our airmen, sailors and soldiers would feel betrayed by
the armed forces and the government they served if they come to know that they
faced asbestos exposure and government did nothing to save them.伯span>
TWA demands immediate
moratorium on new asbestos based plants, a plan to decontaminate the
pre-existing asbestos from public and private buildings and a compensation fund
for the victims of asbestos related diseases.
For Details: Bibhuti Nath, Parmanpur Gram
Surakshya Samiti, Parmanpur, Mb: 09937863255
Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance-Ban Asbestos
India, Mb: 9818089660,
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