Poor garbage disposal facilities plague city

Poor garbage disposal facilities plague city
The Hindu

Landfills in Mavallipura and Mandur are yet to start functioning properly

# The city generates 2,200 tonnes of garbage a day
# Most of it is dumped in abandoned quarries

Bangalore: The city is still faced with the problem of garbage clearance. Two scientific landfills that were to accommodate all the garbage are yet to start functioning fully.

At present, the city generates 2,200 tonnes of garbage every day. Most of it is dumped in abandoned quarries at B. Narayanapura, Boodigere, Kalasanahalli and Kitganahalli. About 300 tonnes go to the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC).

The two scientific landfills in the villages of Mavallipura and Mandur have been in the pipeline for long.

Trial basis

The 100-acre Mavallipura landfill started functioning on a trial basis and about 60 trucks are dumping their waste there, says Manu Baligar, Deputy Commissioner (Health), said here on Tuesday. Work on the 135-acre Mandur landfill was in progress and it would be completed in nine months, he said.

The Mavallipura landfill can take a maximum of 600 tonnes, while the one at Mandur, when fully functional, can accommodate about 1,000 tonnes. This means that now, the BMP has earmarked dumping space for only about 1,900 tonnes of garbage (this includes KCDC's capacity of 300 tonnes) for the future. With Greater Bangalore coming into existence in February next, the amount of garbage generated will increase to at least 2,700 tonnes, thus leaving the BMP short of space for 800 tonnes of garbage.

The BMP Council recently approved a resolution asking the State Government to allocate 522 sq.ft. of land at Manavarthe Kaval, near Kanakpura Road, for construction of a third scientific landfill.

Land allocation

BMP Commissioner K. Jairaj said that he had asked the Bangalore Development Authority to allocate land for dumping yards in different corners of the city in its Comprehensive Development Plan.

But these remain on paper. Objections raised by people seem to be the main stumbling block for the BMP. "People in villages do not want Bangalore's garbage anywhere in the vicinity. And Bangaloreans do not want garbage in the city. What can we do?" asks Mr. Baligar.

For instance, the landfill at Mavallipura was to be functional in June, but has been plagued by problems. The BMP has been unable to get a no-objection certificate from authorities of the Yelahanka air base.

No-objection certificate

The landfill is functioning on the basis of a temporary no-objection certificate from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. Twenty acres of this land is under dispute as villagers have obtained a stay from the High Court, thereby stopping the BMP from developing the landfill completely.

The new disposal rules state that all garbage generated in the city should go to KCDC or Mavallipura, even though they do not have the requisite capacity. Under such circumstances, it seems like abandoned quarries and ad hoc arrangements are here to stay for long.