The Times of India          30.11.2013

Civic body to monitor garbage carrying trucks at Naregaon dumping yard

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said on Friday that it would install cameras at the main entrance of Naregaon dumping yard to monitor the movements of garbage carrying trucks at the yard in the first of December.

Ravindra Nikam, deputy municipal commissioner and in-charge of solid waste management in the AMC, said the system would record entry of trucks loaded with garbage. "It will be reviewed at regular intervals to see whether the trucks are carrying garbage as per the set standards. It is expected that all the trucks should be filled to its capacity," he said.

In the solid waste management department, the civic body has roped in private contractors, who are responsible for picking up garbage from various collection points in the city and dumping it at the yard. "But many corporators and general public have repeatedly said that the trucks reaching the yards are not filled to capacity. The municipal corporation is paying the contractors on the basis of number of trips they undertake every day. It has also been alleged that some of the private contractors are manipulating the system to increase their number of trips," Nikam said.

The civic body has engaged 64 trucks for solid waste management which make 150-160 trip to the yard every days. Of the 64 trucks, private contractors manage 29 trucks while the rest belong to the AMC.

Earlier, the civic body had made attempts to install a weighing bridge at Naregoan dumping yard and fix CCTV cameras to monitor the system. However, the proposals could not see light of the day.

Besides, the civic body also claimed on Friday that it is lifting 90 tonnes of additional solid waste every day from the city. This is in addition to its regular solid waste management of about 400 tonnes a day.

Nikam said six different teams comprising seven employees each had been deployed to lift garbage from various areas in the city during afternoon. "We are already taking care of garbage during morning hours. Regular AMC employees dispose of the garbage generated in various wards. However, the process was not enough and hence, we have now introduced separate teams which are collecting garbage between 1pm and 5pm," he added.