Shimla, Jan 19,
Even as concerns over smoke emissions from the solid waste treatment plant in Bharyal village were yet to subside, a fresh controversy has erupted over the construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP) in the same area.
Villagers on Sunday stopped work on the laying of a pipeline for the STP, alleging that the executing company has failed to obtain a mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Forest Department.
Bharyal village, located about 10 km from on the Shimla–Airport Road, has already been witnessing sustained protests against civic infrastructure projects that residents say are damaging the local ecology.
Villagers claimed that excavation and pipeline laying were being carried out on forest land without permission. Following complaints, forest officials reached the site and directed that work be stopped until the issue is examined.
Seema Kumari, a local resident, said that when villagers questioned company representatives about the Forest Department NOC, they failed to provide a satisfactory reply.
“This is a clear violation of rules. We were forced to intervene, otherwise large tracts of forest land could have been damaged,” she said.
After receiving the complaint, the Range Officer deputed a forest guard to the spot and assured villagers that a departmental team would visit the area on Monday to conduct demarcation.
Officials said the demarcation would determine whether the pipeline is passing through forest land and under what conditions the work is being executed.
Residents from Bharyal, Rampur, Daunti, Badhari and nearby villages are also opposing the setting up of a liquid waste treatment facility near a rivulet adjoining the landfill site.
They allege that both the solid and liquid waste treatment plants are being established at the origin of the Gambhar khud, threatening to pollute the entire downstream stretch and violating environmental norms.
Recently, a media team accompanied by former Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar visited the site and observed that pipelines were being laid through reserved forest areas without environmental clearance.
Villagers argue that instead of adding to pollution, authorities should invest in essential facilities such as schools, colleges or hospitals. They maintain that land acquisition for the two projects poses serious challenges to the fragile local ecology.
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