A stone crusher unit in Balasore district. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, May 3: A PIL has been filed before Orissa High Court seeking direction for closure of over 20 controversial stone crusher units. The crusher units were operating without meeting the site criteria and posing increasing dust pollution related environmental problems in Remuna and Nilagiri regions of Balasore.

The petition has expressed concern that villagers of the surrounding areas were being exposed to avoidable air pollution because of the proximity of the stone crusher units. As these are located near the state highway, people were also being exposed to air pollution because of the plying of an increasing number of vehicles on the approach road.

Samsan Barik, a resident of Nilagiri area, alleged that though 23 crusher units were set up in the area in contravention of prescribed guidelines, somehow they were being allowed to operate.

The PIL seeks intervention of the high court and quashing of the permission accorded for establishment of the crusher units. The petition also named 23 such stone crusher units.

According to the petition, the crusher units violated the distance criterion as they did not even maintain a distance of 500 metres from the villages. The guidelines prescribe that no stone crusher units should be set up within a distance of 500 metres from established habitations.

While the guidelines also prescribe that no stone crusher unit should be set up within a distance of 200 metres from the state highway, all of them were located close to the state highway. Besides, thick dust hazes have impaired visibility on the state highway, where most of the stone crusher units have come up. This has also been posing a threat of road accidents. The temples of Khirachora Gopinath, Nilagiri Jagannath and Panchalingeswar are major tourist draws in the area. But running of the stone crusher units and plying of vehicles for transportation was causing difficulties for the tourists by creating enormous air pollution, the petition contended.