The New Indian Express 17.08.2009

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The Hindu - Delhi 17.08.2009

New garbage collection scheme fails to take off

Manisha Jha

Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

State of affairs: The scene at a garbage ‘Dhalao’ in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: The door-to-door garbage collection scheme introduced by both the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council to rid the Capital of community dustbins and “dhalaos” before the Commonwealth Games and directly transport the waste from homes to sanitary landfill sites has failed to take off. Most residents still continuing to dispose of their garbage through their regular garbage collectors rather than depositing it daily in mini-tempos that are part of the scheme.

According to the civic bodies, while putting the infrastructure and manpower in place to implement the scheme is one challenge, winning the co-operation of Delhiites in changing their civic sense is another crucial factor in making the scheme a success. But while some residents have managed to switch to the new system, a majority continue to dispose of their garbage through their usual garbage collectors or by littering elsewhere, rendering the scheme a flop.

While the civic bodies feel that lack of awareness and co-operation among the residents is to be blame for the feeble response to the scheme, some residents’ welfare associations state that the concept itself is impractical and flawed.

RWA BC Block, Shalimar Bagh, member Ritesh Diwan said: “The mini-tempo vehicle fitted with a hooter to announce its arrival comes to our colony on time around 8 a.m. daily but no one comes to our doorstep to collect the trash. Instead, we are supposed to go down and dump the trash in the tempo which is not always possible at that time.”

“Resultantly, of the about 100 houses near my flat only about five to 10 people who stay on the ground floor end up using the mini-tempo for dumping their garbage while the rest still give it to their regular garbage collectors. If the scheme is called ‘door-to-door garbage collection’ then it should actually come to our door to be successful,” he added.

According to V.K. Arora, resident of Sector-I in R. K. Puram which comes under NDMC area, people have a natural tendency to prefer their regular garbage collectors as they also double up to help out in other household chores and errands at times and are almost like a family member in several households.

However, explaining the civic body standpoint, an MCD official said: “The main reason why earlier two attempts of the MCD to successfully implement the door-to-door garbage collection scheme was the lack of co-operation from the residents concerned as people cannot be easily weaned away from their old habits of dumping garbage on the streets or elsewhere. For this, an intensive and sustained civic awareness campaign is required for which adequate funds have to be allocated which is simply not being done at all.”

The MCD had announced its plans to introduce the scheme on a pilot basis in two zones -- Rohini and Civil Lines Zone -- by July 31 at a cost of Rs.25 crore before extending it to the remaining 10 zones. However, so far it has managed to introduce it only partially in one ward of Shalimar Marg falling in Rohini Zone through a private concessionaire and here too, according to the RWAs concerned, the MCD has not managed to distribute the twin bin dustbin sets for each house as planned. They will be distributed later for garbage segregation, they claim.

MCD Standing Committee chairman Ram Kishan Singal said: “We were facing problems from the garbage collector community who were threatening us against taking away their livelihoods. This has led to delay in successful implementation of the scheme and its extension but we are trying to sort of that problem.”