Tikait joins Mahapanchayat at Gzb village demanding closure of dumping ground

GHAZIABAD: 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 stated 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, a protest at the dumping ground turned violent after villagers allegedly broke open the gates to stage a sit-in. Leaders blamed stone-pelting by suspected contractor associates. Following talks with Tikait, officials agreed to form a joint probe committee.