THEBUSINESSBYTES
BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR,
JULY 1, 2026
Expressing serious
concern over the growing environmental crisis caused by illegal fly ash
transportation and dumping, Odisha Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Bhabani
Shankar Bhoi has urged the Sundargarh district administration to launch an
immediate and coordinated crackdown on the menace. In a strongly worded letter
to the Collector and District Magistrate of Sundargarh, he called for stringent
enforcement measures to curb activities that are damaging the environment,
threatening public health, and fuelling widespread public resentment.
In his letter dated
July 1, 2026, Bhoi highlighted the alarming scale of illegal fly ash dumping
across the district, stating that the unchecked practice is contaminating
agricultural land and water bodies while adversely affecting the lives and
livelihoods of local residents and farmers.
“Such activities are causing severe
environmental degradation, polluting agricultural land and water bodies,
affecting public health, and creating widespread anger among the local
population,” the Deputy Speaker stated.
To tackle the problem
effectively, Bhoi proposed the immediate constitution of Special Task Forces in
each of Sundargarh’s three subdivisions. The task forces, he suggested, should
comprise officials from the Police, Forest, Revenue and Transport departments,
along with representatives of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, to
ensure coordinated enforcement.
He recommended that
the task forces be provided with adequate manpower and dedicated vehicles,
operate round the clock in three shifts, conduct regular patrolling of
vulnerable locations, intercept unauthorised fly ash transport vehicles,
prevent illegal dumping, seize vehicles involved in violations, and initiate
penalties and criminal proceedings against habitual offenders. He also called
for surprise inspections at identified hotspots to strengthen vigilance.
The Deputy Speaker
further urged the district administration to establish a district-level
monitoring mechanism and sought weekly action-taken reports to be submitted to
the Collector's office. He also stressed the active involvement of Tahasildars,
Sub-Collectors and Sub-Divisional Police Officers to reinforce enforcement
efforts at the grassroots level.
Expressing confidence
in the district administration, Bhoi said timely intervention and effective
coordination among the concerned departments would go a long way in protecting
the environment, safeguarding the interests of farmers and local residents, and
ensuring strict compliance with environmental laws.
The Deputy Speaker's
intervention comes amid growing public outrage over fly ash pollution in
industrial and mining-dominated Sundargarh district, where illegal
transportation and dumping have emerged as a major environmental challenge. His
direct appeal to the district administration underscores the urgency of the
issue and signals that concerns over fly ash pollution have reached the highest
levels of the state legislature.
