Ghaziabad (UP), Mar 1 (PTI) Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said that setting up a waste management plant on fertile agricultural land near residential areas violates both environmental standards and basic human compassion.
The farmer leader was addressing a Mahapanchayat at Meerpur Hindu village in Ghaziabad district on Sunday, which was convened to protest against a local landfill site and a proposed waste management plant.
Farmers of the area have been staging a sit-in for the past two weeks, demanding the immediate removal of the garbage dumping site in the village.
According to a statement issued by Neeraj Tyagi, one of the organisers of the Mahapanchayat, Tikait said that no construction work will be allowed in the area without the consent of the farmers.
Tyagi earlier told PTI that the Meerpur Hindu village was adopted for development by former Army chief and ex-Parliamentarian, Gen V K Singh (Retd).
“Instead of the promised progress, the residents have been burdened with a dumping ground that has made living conditions unbearable. Foul smell from the site has made life miserable for the locals, and the condition has gone from bad to worse,” Tyagi said.
On February 15, the protest had turned violent when villagers reached the dumping ground and allegedly broke open the gates to stage a sit-in inside the facility.
Protest leaders claimed the situation went out of control when unidentified individuals, allegedly associates of the landfill contractor, began pelting stones at police personnel.
“Incidents like the recent police lathi-charge are attempts to intimidate, but history shows that farmers don’t bow down. This is not merely a struggle for the village; it is a battle for the dignity of the entire region,” Tikait said.
He also warned that if the voices of the farmers are suppressed or if there is a lack of transparency in the investigation, the movement will take a bigger shape.
The speakers at the Mahapanchayat argued that pollution from the proposed waste management plant would spoil groundwater, air quality and local fields.
The region is reeling from industrial waste flowing through rain-fed drains, with toxic water from factories at Baghpat and Khekra already impacting the area, they claimed.
Senior district officials held a conversation with Tikait, and after an hour of negotiation, an agreement was reached to form a joint investigation committee to look into the matter.
The committee will comprise officials from the departments of pollution control, environment, water conservation, Jal Shakti, and education.
A village-level committee will also be formed, which will include a representative from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Tyagi said. PTI COR NAV ARI
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