BMP drags its feet on dump

BMP drags its feet on dump
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) is launching an extensive drive to desilt storm water drains and against dumping of debris on roadsides, but the civic body has no operational disposal sites. The December 2003 deadline set by union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been given a go by, as the works on the two sites, one near Mavallipura and another near Mandur, have not been completed so far.

Worse, the civic body has not taken any action on MoEF guideline on bio-medical waste disposal. The present practice of municipal solid waste (MSW) management can only be described as ad-hoc though the city generates 2005 metric tonnes of garbage every day. This amount does not include the silt removed from drains and construction debris.

While the BMP regularly appoints contractors for collection and transport of MSW, it does not show them any site to dump the garbage. As a consequence the trucks dispose the garbage in the backyard of villages on the city outskirts and it does not affect the civic body if the trucks are burnt or the drivers are beaten up by the angry residents, said chairman of standing committee on health M Muniraju.

A MoEF guideline stipulates that the dumpsite must have a capacity large enough for the next 25 years. Interestingly, the BMP intends to accommodate projected garbage volume of nearly 5000 MTD by 2021 in its 200-acre facility.

The civic body appointed the contractor for its 100-acre landfill site in 2004 and the work was to be completed by December 2005. Leave alone completing the works, the project is bogged down by litigation on land acquisition. As a result, only 75 acres is available and that too without an approach road.

BMP planning also came under criticism, as the facility is 9.5 km from the strategic Yelahanka airforce station while the Air Act bans any such facility within 10 kms radius. BMP official sources said the civic body had written to the union defence ministry.

Another disposal site with waste to energy plant is proposed near Mandur on 169.1 acres of land. The BMP entered into a contract in 2005 with a project period of 18 months. Here also the BMP ran into land acquisition problems after signing the contract.

Records in State forest department contradicted the records in revenue department and as a consequence only 135 acres are currently available. The landfill would be completed by January 2007, said an official.

Muniraju said: “If the garbage contractors have nowhere to take the city waste, how can they function efficiently. Sadly the drivers get beaten up by the villagers. I will take up the matter with the commissioner.’’

While the civic body is busy resolving land problems, finer requirements like baseline survey of ground water quality in the landfill area and leachate simulation study have taken a back seat.