Report on dumping of construction waste during the construction of two lane road tunnel, Dhalli, Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, 29/12/2022
Joint inspection report of the committee constituted in compliance to the National Green Tribunal order of October 31, 2022 in the matter of Original Application No. 685 of 2022 (Narayan Singh Vs State of Himachal Pradesh).
The matter related to dumping of construction waste and waste stone debris by M/s. Sai Eternal Foundation. The waste was dumped on "valley side causing damage to environment and also creating health hazards to local people in the area".
Sai Eternal Foundation is constructing a double lane in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh and in the process of said construction activities, construction waste and other waste is being dumped at Dhalli Tunnel project down the valley side. The joint inspection carried out by the Divisional Forest Officer, Shimla and Regional Officer, Shimla of Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board to carry out joint inspection.
The inspection found that the excavation work for the construction of two lane road tunnel having length of 147 metres at Dhalli were complete and "at present there is no generation of muck/debris". As per records maintained by Sai Eternal Foundation, total quantity of muck generated from the construction of the tunnel is approximately 14,923 cubic metres.
Muck generated has been dumped at two designated dumping sites on private land. Further, approximately 755 cubic metres muck was transported to captive crusher plant of Sai Eternal Foundation at village Devidhar, tehsil Sunni, district Shimla for crushing and reusing.
At one of the sites, where according to the company 12,714 cubic metres of muck has been dumped it was observed that wired crate walls have been provided at the bottom of the site. However, it is inadequate and the height of the crate walls need to be raised to prevent flow of debris over the crate walls, the report noted.