Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Monday visited Nandgaon fly ash dump (Maharashtra State Power Generation Ltd) in Nagpur. He further instructed officials to get rid of the fly ash dumping pipeline immediately clear the place where ash is being dumped.
"We had received complaints regarding pollution through fly ash dumping in Nandgaon, I had also seen videos taking complete info about this. But I had to come to the field and see the actual situation," Thackeray said.
"Fly ash dumping stopped from February 4. Today after taking stock of the situation, we instructed that fly ash dumping pipeline be removed immediately and the place where ash is being dumped be cleared. Electricity is necessary but we'll take care that the environment isn't harmed," he added.
Thackeray had earlier postponed his visit to the area slated for last Monday as the government has declared a public holiday to mourn the death of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Prompted by repeated complaints from the area, a team of the Maharashtra Environment Department had visited the villages affected by the dumping of fly ash and ash slurry from the Khaparkheda plant. Thereafter, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has sent a notice to KTPS to immediately stop disposing and dumping ash slurry into the Nandgaon ash pond about 20-odd km to its north-east.
