No mechanisms in place to arrest garbage flow

No mechanisms in place to arrest garbage flow
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: At the start of the digital millennium, Bangalore had a population of 42.92 lakh and generated 1,502 metric tonnes a day (MTD) of solid-waste. This has grown to 2,005 MTD this year. The statistics for the future are more alarming. By 2011, the city is projected to generate 2,731 MTD of garbage as the population would cross 65 lakh. Even disturbing, by 2021 the population will cross the ten million mark and the waste generation would be over 5,000 tonnes a day.

These alarming figures are a reality, but the Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) doesn’t seem perturbed. The civic body has made a provision for just 200 acres of scientific land-fill, while the future requirement is over six thousand acres. This paltry arrangement has not even adhered to the deadlines set by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in December 2003. It seems too little too late for changes and the city is heading towards an insurmountable mountain of garbage.

BCC Deputy Commissioner Health V.P. Ikkeri said that setting up of scientific land-fill is a difficult task for a city like Bangalore.

“The MoEF states that the land-fill should not be within the periphery of an urban local body. We must identify a plot of land outside the city limits. Since the dumping ground will be close to villages, there is every reason for the villagers to resist such disposal. Further, there are real estate lobbies that would probably stop this activity, fearing a fall in property value,” he said.

The bureaucratic set up is an impediment to the functioning of garbage management. There are 16 institutions involved in solid waste management including trade unions and NGOs.

A much bigger challenge is in making waste-management a household practice. Since population is increasing and Bangaloreans consume more food, waste will definitely be on the rise. This requires appropriate solid waste management infrastructure and penal provisions to sensitise the public. It is also necessary to provide collection services to the entire city area.

The other organisation involved to monitor activity in the city is the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. It monitors compliance standards regarding ambient air, leachate and compost quality including incineration standards.

Ikkeri added that solid waste had to be managed appropriately and that it will continue to pose health hazards.

“It is necessary that those who work in close proximity to disposal sites are well protected. They are exposed to significant levels of physical, chemical and biological toxins. There have been studies which prove that there might be respiratory diseases and they may also be affected by intestinal parasites,” he said.